ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal jury convicted an Anchorage man late Friday for robbing a credit union in August 2024.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Aug. 12, 2024, Joseph Sledge, 30, arrived at a credit union in Anchorage around 11:35 a.m. and stated that he needed to make a withdrawal to a nearby security guard. Sledge entered the credit union wearing a baseball cap, grey COVID-19 facemask with a local Native corporation’s logo on it, flannel shirt, jeans and a plastic Pirate Bay necklace.
Sledge walked into the lobby and looked around before a teller signaled Sledge over to his station. Sledge approached and tossed a note on the counter that stated, “Give me $50,000 and all your cash.” The teller read the note multiple times and observed Sledge silently staring at him before he sent a message to his co-workers stating, “Code Red,” which meant there was a robbery in progress.
The teller placed $2,500 on the counter and Sledge left with the money and note.
When investigators identified the logo on Sledge’s mask, they distributed still shots from the robbery to the Native corporation and one employee recognized the defendant from an interaction earlier that day. Roughly 30 minutes before the robbery, Sledge went to the Native corporation’s office to pick up a shareholders check. When a staff member told him the check was not ready, he grabbed a COVID-19 mask with the company’s logo on it that were available for members and left.
Sledge then went to a different floor in the same building and entered a property management office where he asked a staff member if they were happy with their security. Sledge then asked the staff member for $20 and snacks, but the employee said no and asked Sledge to leave.
Sledge then exited the office and sat down at a coffee shop on the first floor of the building and fell asleep. At roughly 11:34 a.m., a building security guard asked Sledge to leave. The guard followed the defendant off the premise and observed him walking in the direction of the credit union. Sledge entered the credit union roughly one minute later.
On Aug. 16, 2024, law enforcement located and arrested Sledge at a location along the Seward Highway. At the time of his arrest, Sledge was wearing the same necklace, flannel shirt and jeans as worn during the robbery.
Sledge was convicted of one count of credit union robbery.
“There’s no such thing as free money in the United States of America,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “Mr. Sledge used intimidation to steal from a local credit union and will now face the consequences of his actions. Thank you to the FBI and Anchorage Police Department for contributing to this successful prosecution. Our office will continue to work with law enforcement to hold criminals accountable and fight for justice.”
“Today’s conviction demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to aggressively pursue criminals who terrorize and steal from our community,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Utilizing FBI Anchorage’s Safe Streets Task Force, the FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to pursue and apprehend criminals like Joseph Sledge so they are held accountable for their crimes.”
The FBI Anchorage Field Office and Anchorage Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Miller and Alana Weber are prosecuting the case.
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