Two Charged in Eagle Valley Bank Burglary

Two men have been charged in Wednesday’s early-morning burglary at .

Christopher Benjamin Schoeppi, a Stillwater resident who turned 18 just four hours before the alleged bank burglary, and Paul Michael Kloos, an 18-year-old homeless man, were each charged with second-degree burglary.

Police also believe the duo burglarized  that same night, Stillwater Police Sgt. Jeff Stender said. That case remains under investigation.

The bank burglary is currently being investigated by the FBI, as crimes at banks fall under federal jurisdiction, Stender said. If the case is charged out by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the county charges would be dismissed in lieu of the federal case.

After reviewing bank video surveillance, police believe the burglars used cinder block to break a bank window. Once inside, they entered the lobby area and then went over a short counter behind the teller line where Schaeppi found keys in a drawer, the report states. After breaking a key off in a drawer, the duo headed into the bank manager's office, rifled through some drawers and ultimately snatched a bag of cookies from the office.

At about 4:30 a.m. on July 13, police were called to an alarm at Eagle Valley Bank. Stillwater police were busy at the scene, so the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call, Stillwater Police Sgt. Jeff Stender said.

“The first deputy to respond made an extremely tactical approach on the bank and arrived in the area unseen,” Stender said.

When the deputy arrived he saw that a bank window had been broken, Stender said. The deputy knew he had something so he radioed back to police at the scene of the fire, who then responded to set up a perimeter.

The deputy arrested Kloos on the scene, but a second man fled on foot, Stender said.

While searching the area, police started asking local hotel employees if they had seen a man matching the suspect’s description.

An employee at the told police that a man matching the suspect description had a room on the third floor, Stender said. A Stillwater detective went to the third floor where he saw Schoeppi bleeding from his elbow while pounding on a hotel room door, he said.

After entering the hotel room, police questioned and arrested a 16-year-old May Township girl, a 17-year-old River Falls boy and an 18-year-old Stillwater man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary at the bank. They were later released, but criminal charges are possible pending further investigation.

“There was terrific cooperation with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office,” Stender said. “Without their assistance we wouldn’t have had such a quick resolution to this case. They did some good police work that night.”

Updated From July 13 at 12:05 p.m.:

Five people were arrested this morning after Stillwater police and the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to a burglar alarm at Eagle Valley Bank at about 4:30 a.m.

Three adults and one juvenile remain in custody and the case remains under investigation, Stillwater Police Chief John Gannaway said this morning. The case is being investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Stillwater Police Department, Washington County Sheriff's Office.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office was the first to respond to the burglar alarm, as Stillwater police were tied up on the scene of the townhouse fire this morning, Gannaway said.

When the deputy arrived, he saw one suspect who was immediately apprehended, Gannaway said. The other four suspects were located in the area and taken into custody.

A lobby window of the bank was broken, Gannaway said. Police are not commenting on whether or not anything was stolen.

When asked if the fire and the burglary are related, Gannaway said the "chances are slim."

Police don't believe the incidents are related, he said. But given the suspicious nature of the timing, police would be "remiss" not to look into the possibility.

"Both incidents remain under investigation," the chief said.