SANDPOINT - A serial bank robber awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court is suing the Bonner County Sheriff's Office for allegedly withholding his antidepressant medication while he was being held at the jail.

Ricky Allen Fisher pleaded guilty on Tuesday to bank robberies in Idaho and Oregon.

Fisher, 35, is being held at the jail here as a pretrial detainee, according to court documents.

Fisher filed the civil action pro se on Oct. 16. In the suit, Fisher said his Wellbutrin prescription has been withheld since last May. He argues he should have been weaned off the medication rather than made to quit cold turkey, which caused withdrawal symptoms.

Moreover, medications that he has access to are dispensed by a deputy rather than a nurse or nurse practitioner, which Fisher contends is a violation of state and federal law.

Fisher further argues that he is being punished for actions of which he has not yet been convicted. He contends he is granted only three hours of out-of-cell time, while sentenced offenders are granted as many as 17 hours.

Fisher is seeking a preliminary injunction for additional out-of-cell time, proper dispensation of medications and $100,000 in damages for pain and suffering.

By policy, the county does not comment on pending litigation. An answer to Fisher's complaint has not yet been filed.

Federal prosecutors contend Fisher went on a bank robbery spree in May, after serving 77 months in federal prison for bank robbery. Three banks in Cottonwood and Ontario, Ore., were robbed within a one-week time span.

In each of the heists, Fisher gave tellers notes demanding money. All told, Fisher made off with $5,258, according to a plea agreement in the case.

Fisher's accomplice in the robberies, 19-year-old Jennifer Balfe, is already serving a 27-month prison term. She drove Fisher to the banks that were robbed.

The plea agreement states that Fisher and Balfe spent their downtime between robberies using drugs, drinking and gambling. They were apprehended after a concerned citizen contacted police after learning of the robberies through the news.

Fisher is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on March 3, 2015, in Coeur d'Alene.