Robbery suspect to stay in N.D. custody

GRAND FORKS — A man charged with robbing a Grand Forks hotel and an East Grand Forks convenience store will stay in the custody of North Dakota authorities for at least a while longer, a judge ruled Monday.

At a hearing on whether 23-year-old Kyle Pederson will be extradited to Minnesota to be tried in the East Grand Forks stickup, Judge Joel Medd of North Dakota District Court tabled the issue until a Feb. 10 hearing and urged Pederson to talk to an attorney in the meantime.

Pederson, who appeared via interactive television, is seeking to be represented by a public defender but has not yet been appointed one.

Pederson’s arrest on Wednesday appears to have ended a multi-agency hunt for the perpetrator of eight armed robberies in the area — six in Grand Forks, one in East Grand Forks and one in Mayville, N.D. However, he’s only been charged in the Dec. 9 robbery of the Fairfield Inn in Grand Forks and the Dec. 18 stickup at Orton’s Point Tesoro.

Authorities had said the series of robberies could be connected, but since Pederson’s arrest, investigators and prosecutors have been tightlipped about whether he will be charged with the other six holdups. In court Monday on the Fairfield Inn charge, prosecutor David Jones said, “There are potential companion matters that are under investigation.”

In the Fairfield Inn holdup, Pederson faces a charge of robbery, a Class B felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison because a handgun was used. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. In the Orton’s holdup, he faces a felony charge of first-degree aggravated robbery.

Authorities said numerous tips from the public led them to Pederson, but would not elaborate on how they came to arrest him. Grand Forks County State’s Attorney Peter Welte said Pederson doesn’t have a prior criminal record in North Dakota but that he implicated himself in the Fairfield Inn case and other robberies.

Pederson, who is originally from East Grand Forks, is being held without bail at the Grand Forks County Jail.

Archie Ingersoll is a reporter for the Grand Forks Herald which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

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