Wanted man arrested after alleged knifepoint robbery

POST FALLS — Kootenai County sheriff's deputies arrested a wanted man accused of robbing a woman at knifepoint last year.

Robert L. Edwards, 34, of Otis Orchards, Wash., is charged with robbery, a felony. Prosecutors also filed a persistent violator enhancement.

The charge stems from February 2020, when a woman reported to police that Edwards, who she said was a friend, had punched her in the face while they were in her car together at the Flying J in Post Falls.

She said Edwards was in the passenger seat when he pulled out a knife and forced her to exit the car. He then allegedly slid into the driver’s seat and put the car in reverse, causing the open door to hit the woman.

Edwards was wanted on a Washington warrant at the time, according to court documents.

Spokane police reportedly located the car several days later at a motel, but Edwards left the scene before police identified him.

A warrant for Edwards’ arrest was issued March 11.

He was taken into custody by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office on Friday.

Judge Robert Caldwell ordered Monday that Edwards be held on $50,000 bail.

Edwards was previously convicted of multiple felonies in Spokane County, including money laundering and possession of a controlled substance in 2018, as well as taking a motor vehicle without permission and theft in 2014.

In Idaho, a third felony conviction is punishable by a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum life sentence.