BONNEY LAKE, Wash. -- Two people, including a former Wilkeson police officer, are in custody in connection with the “River Rat" robberies.

The pair is suspected in nearly two dozen armed robberies in Washington and Oregon.

Investigators first arrested 32-year-old Alexey Perez without incident near Bonney Lake on Saturday.

Perez appeared in court Monday on three counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery. Police said he is a notorious and prolific bank robber and is wanted for 18 hold ups in the Northwest.

Upon his arrest, police said Perez named an accomplice and within hours Portland police arrested 35-year-old Travis Oles, a former reserve police officer for the city of Wilkeson.

Over two and a half months the pair may have stolen as much as $100,000 from banks near Portland and in the Puget Sound area.

“These folks definitely had a need for cash, based on their financial troubles and probably felt pretty bold,” said Lt. Scott Engle of the Puyallup Police Department.

Detectives said the two first met at Chips Casino in Lakewood, where Oles worked as a security guard. Police said after that they hatched their robbery plan.

Perez became the focus of the river rat investigation after a fingerprint left behind at a hold up in Kent last month came up as a match to his criminal records.

Ironically, Oles, who grew up in Buckley, was a former high school classmate of several of the investigators responsible for his arrest.

“As you can see it's kind of a small town America thing here and we used that relationship to our advantage in this investigation,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Jeter of Puyallup police.

The "River Rat" bandit was given that name by authorities because he robbed banks and cash-advance stores on both sides of the Columbia River.

The Chips Casino manager didn't want to talk about Oles and would not confirm whether or not he is still employed by the casino. He remains in custody in Portland.

Perez pleaded not guilty to three counts of bank robbery in Pierce County Superior Court and his bail was set at $5 million.

Investigators said it's likely both men will face prosecution for the bank robberies in federal court.