Three-time bank robber pleads guilty in federal court

A man who robbed three banks in Oregon and Idaho pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene. Ricky A. Fisher, 35, admitted to robbing a Chase Bank and U.S. Bank in Ontario, Oregon and a U.S. Bank in Cottonwood, Idaho in May 2014. He stole over $5,000 between the three robberies. He had recently been released from federal prison after serving a 77 month sentence for a 2006 bank robbery in Hayden, Idaho. Fisher was driven to each bank by Jennifer Balfe, 19, who previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Nov. 20 to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Fisher will be sentenced on March 3, 2015, in Coeur d’Alene. He faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Fisher has also been ordered to pay restitution to each of the banks. The case was investigated by the Cottonwood Police Department, Lewiston Police Department, Idaho County Sheriff’s Office, Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).