Serial Bank Robber Pleads Guilty to Multiple Holdups

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, a 49-year-old Minneapolis man previously dubbed by law enforcement as “the man-in-black bank robber” pleaded guilty to five bank robberies that occurred in Minnesota between March 9, 2011 and January 3, 2012. In entering his plea, Mark Edward Wetsch also admitted responsibility for 25 additional bank robberies that occurred in 2011. Previously, on April 22, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery, which occurred on January 3, 2012, in Brewster, Minnesota. He entered his plea today before United States District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Wetsch pled guilty to robbing five banks, in each case admitting that he wore a black mask and brandished a firearm believed to be real. Wetsch stole $9,350 from the First National Bank in Hastings on December 27, 2011; $3,634 from the Wells Federal Bank in St. Peter on December 22, 2011; $3,801 from the Premier Bank in Albertville on November 9, 2011; $9,445 from the Merchants Bank in Hampton on May 13, 2011; and $3,050 from the United Educators Credit Union in Eden Prairie on April 26, 2011. In addition to the bank robberies to which Wetsch pled guilty, Wetsch admitted taking a total of more than $110,000 in the 31 bank robberies that he committed in 2011.
Those additional robberies include the following:

Date of Robbery	Bank	Amount Stolen
December 29, 2011	Glenwood State Bank of Alexandria	$3,200
December 20, 2011	Franklin Bank of Minneapolis	$2,350
December 14, 2011	M&I Bank of St. Paul	$1,645
December 7, 2011	Premier Bank of Bloomington	$850
December 5, 2011	U.S. Bank of Hopkins	$3,106
November 30, 2011	Central Bank of Minneapolis	$803
November 22, 2011	Bremer Bank of Minneapolis	$2,907
November 13, 2011	TCF Bank of Arden Hills	$4,900
November 9, 2011	Richfield Bloomington Credit Union	attempted robbery
November 4, 2011	First National Bank of Lakes, Richfield	$8,823
November 1, 2011	Paragon Bank of Shakopee	$1,444
October 22, 2011	Prior Lake State Bank, Prior Lake	$7,200
June 13, 2011	First National Bank of Minnesota of Gaylord	$6,946
June 3, 2011	Sherburne State Bank, Clear Lake	$3,000
April 26, 2011	Wells Fargo Bank, Faribault	$2,225
April 26, 2011	Richfield Bloomington Credit Union	attempted robbery
April 14, 2011	U.S. Federal Credit Union of Northfield	$5,280
April 11, 2011	Sterling State Bank of Savage	$1,885
March 9, 2011	Klein Bank of Cologne	$11,400
March 7, 2011	Bremer Bank of Minneapolis	$2,030
February 17, 2011	First National Bank of Orono	$4,000
February 10, 2011	United Educators Credit Union of Columbia Heights	$1,500
February 9, 2011	U.S. Bank of St. Paul	$1,000
February 4, 2011	Central Bank of Minneapolis	$1,056
January 11, 2011	Bremer Bank of Minneapolis	$6,000

Wetsch remains in custody. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the government is seeking a prison sentence of 14 years. Since the federal criminal justice system does not have parole, defendants serve virtually their entire sentences behind bars. Judge Nelson will determine Wetsch’s actual sentence at a future hearing, not yet scheduled.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police departments of Alexandria, Bloomington, Columbia Heights, Eden Prairie, Faribault, Gaylord, Hastings, Hopkins, Minneapolis, Northfield, Orono, Prior Lake, Richfield, Savage, St. Paul, St. Peter, and Shakopee; and the sheriff offices of Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Nicollet, Nobles, Sibley, and Wright Counties, with assistance from the Minnesota State Patrol. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deidre Y. Aanstad and Kevin S. Ueland.