Third Fairbanks Best Western Robbery Suspect now in Police Custody

Surveillance video released by Fairbanks Police of the Best Western robbery trio.


The third suspect, a female, involved in the August 30th robbery of a couple at the Best Western hotel in Fairbanks has been taken into custody on charges of Robbery I, Tampering with Evidence, and two counts of Assault III, troopers revealed on Monday.

37-year-old North Pole woman, Tasha Swanson, was the third and final suspect in the robbery which was partially captured on surveillance footage at the hotel. The other two suspects, Joseph Cofey and Michael Cofey, were arrested previously.

According to the report the two Cofeys and Swanson forced their way into the room of a couple who had just arrived from Anchorage. Swanson and one of the men were armed and threatened to kill the female if she did not remain quiet.

They took cell phones and car keys from the couple and left. The two men would later return and take the vehicle and drive to the Boatel Bar. Troopers would locate the vehicle there and the two men inside the bar. They would be charged with crimes that included Robbery, Kidnapping, and Assault III.

Swanson evaded capture for just over two weeks before being arrested, charged and remanded to the Fairbanks Correctional Center.