Duo accused of grifting

SANDPOINT — Two California men are scheduled to be arraigned today for allegedly grifting at a Priest River bank.

Raitan Razmias and Vasile Rostas-Anghel are each charged with burglary and grand theft. They are being held in lieu of $15,000 bail each, according to Bonner County Magistrate Court records.

Razmias and Rostas-Anghel, both 18, of Hemet, turned up at Wells Fargo Bank branch on Oct. 4 and asked bank officials to break $2,400 into smaller denominations of $50, according to a Priest River Police probable cause affidavit.

Immediately after a teller converted the $2,400 into smaller bills, the defendants said they needed the money converted into pound sterling, currency used in the United Kingdom, the affidavit said. The teller returned the cash to the drawer without counting it back due to the brevity of the first transaction, according to the affidavit.

One member of the duo is accused of lifting a portion of bills from the stack before it was returned, resulting in the theft of $1,350, court documents indicate.

Razmias and Rostas-Anghel appear to have been arrested the following day in Washington County after attempting to pull off a similar caper in Weiser, according to court records.

The pair were charged with burglary, but prosecution was ceased as the two became the subject of fugitive proceedings arising from arrest warrants from Lewis County, Wash., online court databases show.

They were sentenced to 19 days in jail with credit for time served, although Washington state’s online database does not specify what offenses were adjudicated.

The two turned up in the Bonner County Jail on Dec. 4, although their initial court appearances were delayed so a Romanian interpreter could be arranged to assist with the proceedings.