East County Bank Robbery Suspect Repeatedly Stabs Himself

EAST SAN DIEGO COUNTY -- An East County man is hospitalized with severe injuries after repeatedly stabbing himself in the chest while police were attempting to take him into custody after his alleged robbery of an Alpine bank.

It all began around 11 am on Wednesday, Nov. 30 when deputies from the Alpine Station responded to a report of a bank robbery at the US Bank branch, located in the Albertsons Grocery Store on the 2900 block of Alpine Blvd.

Deputies arriving on scene were told that a white male adult wearing a blue jacket and black baseball cap handed a demand note to the teller and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Deputies and detectives from the Alpine Station, as well as agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, conducted an investigation, during which deputies quickly identified the suspect as a local resident, 27-year-old John Wiederkeher, who police say has an extensive criminal history. Deputies searched for Wiederkeher for the remainder of the day but were unable to locate him.

On the following day, Thursday, Dec. 1, deputies were conducting surveillance for Wiederkehr when they received a tip that he was in the area of Browns Road and Willows Road in Alpine. Deputies found him in a parking lot about half a mile east of the Viejas Casino, and attempted to take him into custody for the robbery.

However, when deputies approached and gave him commands, Wiederkehr quickly ran behind a vehicle
and began reaching into his pockets, police say, then pulled out a large knife from his pocket and began
stabbing himself in the chest.

In an attempt to stop Wiederkehr from harming himself, a deputy shot him with a Taser, which immobilized Wiederkehr, causing him to drop the knife. Deputies were then able to stop him from harming himself and take him into custody.

Wiederkeher's self-inflicted stab wounds were so severe that he was airlifted to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries. However, detectives did arrest Wiederkeher for robbery of the US Bank in Alpine, and are expected to book him into custody after he's discharged from the hospital.

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