POST FALLS - Post Falls Police have a friend in Facebook.

That became apparent Wednesday when Raymond Matthew Alterton, 56, Post Falls, was arrested as the suspect in an alleged bank robbery at Bank of America at 804 N. Henry St. off Seltice Way in Post Falls earlier in the day.

Less than four hours after the alleged crime, Alterton was arrested on eastbound Interstate 90 at Post Falls without incident as he was taking a taxi toward Coeur d'Alene.

Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug said his staff and FBI detectives collaborated well on the case, and tips generated from PFPD's Facebook posts of the suspect and his vehicle are what led them to Alterton.

"Within 40 minutes, we knew who the suspect was," Haug said. "I'm confident that we would have solved this case, but with the help of citizens (through Facebook), we were able to get him into custody quicker. This was one of the fastest arrests that we've had in my career.

"It was a great example of how social media can help us solve cases."

Post Falls Police Capt. Greg McLean said after the alleged robbery, Alterton purchased a plane ticket at Spokane International Airport to Ontario, Calif.

"We received a tip that he then went to Northern Quest Casino, possibly to hang out in a crowded area until his flight," said McLean, declining to elaborate about the tip.

McLean said police also received a tip that Alterton caught a taxi and was headed toward Coeur d'Alene.

"We suspect that he knew we were on to him, so he took the taxi (rather than going to the airport for the flight as originally planned)," McLean said.

Police stopped the taxi at milepost 10 between Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene.

McLean said Alterton told officers that he was headed to Kootenai Health to turn himself in to the mental unit at the facility.

However, McLean said Alterton showed no obvious signs of being mentally unstable.

Alterton was booked into the Kootenai County jail for robbery and two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a gun at two people.

In addition to receiving tips based on Facebook posts, McLean said bank records helped identify Alterton because he recently opened an account at Bank of America.

Police received a call at 10:05 a.m. that the Bank of America had been robbed by a male who was wearing sunglasses and a baby-blue hoodie.

Alterton allegedly pointed a pistol at staff before fleeing on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. He drove away in a dark blue 2002 Buick Century from the area of Goodwill Industries thrift store about a block from the bank.

Police arrested Alterton around 2 p.m.

As of late afternoon, police hadn't recovered the gun used in the alleged heist, but had information on where it may be.

A male customer who was inside the bank during the alleged heist declined to comment.

Video surveillance of the Buick was provided to police from Goodwill for the investigation. Goodwill store employees referred questions to the corporate office in Spokane, which did not return a message seeking comment.