Man gets 15 years for area robbery

Wed., June 16, 2004

From staff reports

A 43-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen.

Eric Lynn Heartburg received the sentence after earlier pleading guilty to the armed robbery of a Bank of America branch on Spokane’s South Hill on Jan. 13.

Heartburg, carrying a loaded 9mm handgun during the holdup, was captured and wrestled to the ground by customers.

Heartburg also admitted robbing a Sterling Savings Bank branch in Coeur d’Alene on Dec. 22 and the Bank of Coeur d’Alene, also in Coeur d’Alene, on Jan. 8.

In the Spokane robbery, Heartburg approached a teller and demanded money. He warned her not to give him bills tied to an exploding red dye pack.

As the robber moved to a second teller’s window, another customer intervened. When a teller shouted, “Oh, my God! He has a gun,” a second customer joined the scuffle, subduing Heartburg and kicking away his handgun.

Heartburg has previous convictions for child sexual abuse and theft, authorities said.

He was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a law enforcement partnership targeting gun crimes.

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