This Pasco man asked a stranger for a ride. Then he robbed him at gunpoint

A Pasco man allegedly asked a stranger for a ride to Kennewick, then robbed the driver of $100 and stole his car.

It was only days later after police tracked down the suspect, Erick Zarsa, that they discovered the gun he’d used in the July 4 crime actually was a BB gun, according to court documents.

The BB gun was so realistic that it had “SNR357” markings on it and fake bullets in the revolver’s cylinder, documents said.

Five months later, law enforcement officers are trying to find Zarsa to face charges of first-degree robbery and car theft.

The charges were filed Nov. 5 in Franklin County Superior Court, and an arrest warrant was issued with $20,000 bail.

Zarsa recently was featured as wanted by Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.

However, an online database showed Monday that Zarsa is locked up at Airway Heights Corrections Center, west of Spokane. He’s been there since September and has a current release date of June 11, 2020.

The 25-year-old Pasco man’s aliases are “Lil Tank” and “X.”

His criminal history includes convictions for child rape and second-degree assault.

He was sentenced Sept. 3 in Franklin County to one year and two months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender, with a prior conviction for the same crime in Benton County.

Zarsa was reportedly living as a transient last summer when he approached a man and asked for a ride from Pasco to Kennewick.

The man agreed but had to stop by his North 19th Avenue home first.

It was there that Zarsa allegedly got out of the car, showed the gun and demanded $100. Zarsa said if the victim told his landlord, he would kill both of them, court documents said.

The driver borrowed the cash from his landlord, then got back behind the wheel of his 1997 Buick Park Avenue and headed for Kennewick.

It was on the other side of the blue bridge — at West Columbia Drive and North Lyle Street — that Zarsa put a gun to the driver’s ribcage and ordered him out of the car, documents said.

The man later told police he feared for his life as he got out, especially as a woman walked up to the Buick and got in.

The couple then drove off east on Columbia Drive, court documents said.

A Washington State Patrol trooper contacted the victim as he was running across the bridge back to Pasco. That was shortly after 8 p.m.

Two days later, at 1:05 a.m. July 7, Pasco and Kennewick police stopped the stolen Buick on South Fir Street in Kennewick.

Both the female driver and Zarsa were arrested on outstanding warrants. The woman was later released without charges.

Before the traffic stop, officers allegedly saw Zarsa put something under the front seat or in the glovebox. He also wasn’t cooperative and would not follow police commands, documents said.

A later search of the Buick turned up a gray revolver BB gun under the front passenger seat.