Nobles County Drops State Charges Against 'Man in Black' Suspect

With federal charges proceeding against the suspected “Man in Black,” Nobles County has dismissed state charges against the man accused of robbing banks across the Twin Cities.

Nobles County Attorney Gordon Moore told Patch that he’d dismissed charges against 49-year-old Mark Edward Wetsch of Minneapolis.

County prosecutors charged Wetsch with aggravated robbery, terroristic threats and theft following a Jan. 3 robbery at Rolling Hills Bank in Brewster. Wetsch admitted to the Brewster robbery and unspecified other robberies, according to court documents.

 the robbery that it was investigating whether he was the “Man in Black” thought to have hit numerous banks in the Twin Cities. Last week,  that charged Wetsch with 13 counts of armed bank robbery in connection with incidents dating back to March 9—including the same Brewster robbery for which Nobles County had already charged him.

The federal government will now pursue the case against Wetsch, Moore said.

The “Man in Black”—so named because of his propensity for wearing dark-colored clothing during his robbery spree—was thought to have committed . However, the indictment unsealed last week did not contain any charges related to the Northfield robbery.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office can’t disclose information on the investigation, including details on whether Wetsch is still suspected in the Northfield robbery, a spokesperson for the agency said. There are about 20 other “banks of suspicion” for which charges have not been filed, although the office could add charges later, she said.

The current indictment charges Wetsch with stealing about:

• $1,880 from the Rolling Hills Bank and Trust in Brewster on Jan. 3,
• $3,200 from the Glenwood State Bank in Alexandria on Dec. 29,
• $9,350 from the First National Bank in Hastings on Dec. 27,
• $3,634 from the Wells Federal Bank in St. Peter on Dec. 22,
• $2,350 from the Franklin Bank in Minneapolis on Dec. 20,
• $3,000 from the Bremer Bank in Minneapolis on Nov. 22,
• $3,801 from the Premier Bank in Albertville on Nov. 9,
• $8,823 from the First National Bank in Richfield on Nov. 4,
• $6,946 from the First National Bank in Gaylord on June 13,
• $9,445 from the Merchants Bank in Hampton on May 13,
• $2,225 from the Wells Fargo Bank in Faribault on April 26,
• $3,050 from the United Educators Credit Union in Eden Prairie on April 26
• $11,400 from the Klein Bank in Cologne on March 9, 2011.

Wetsch faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on each count. He remains in custody.