(St. Peter, Mn.)– Authorities have released the identity of a man facing charges in connection with an armed robbery Tuesday at a bank in southwest Minnesota.
It happened shortly before noon when a man wearing a heavy coat and mask armed with a handgun entered the Rolling Hills Bank in Brewster and demanded a teller put money in a bag. He took off with an undisclosed amount of money.
Through the use of the bank’s surveillance video and that of a nearby gas station, the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office was able to identify a suspect, and an all-points-bulletin was put out.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, a police officer in St. Peter observed a vehicle matching the description that Nobles county authorities had put out. The officer pulled over the vehicle on Highway 169 and requested the driver to get out. A subsequent search turned up a pistol, later found not to be a real gun, along with a large amount of money.
The driver, 49-year-old Mark Wetsch of Minneapolis, was taken into custody for questioning. Authorities say charges are pending against Wetsch in Nobles county in connection with Tuesday’s armed robbery.
Authorities add that Wetsch is believed to be a suspect in a burglary two weeks ago at the Wells Federal Bank in St. Peter, as a similar vehicle had been seen in the vicinity of that bank and other banks that had been robbed recently in other areas of Minnesota.
Authorities say a multi-jurisdictional investigation is now underway and that it will be a lengthy and complex process.
