May 25, 2004
Section: Local;State
Page: 1B
David Unze
Staff
St. Cloud Times Metro
Suspect may face federal charges in armed theft of St. Martin Bank
By David Unze
Federal bank robbery charges are expected against a 24-year-old man suspected of using a handgun Friday to rob the St. Martin Bank.
Stearns County sheriff’s deputies and St. Cloud police arrested Adam John Fuchs early Sunday without incident at a west St. Cloud motel.
The arrest came after two callers told sheriff’s officials they recognized Fuchs as the man in a photograph that was taken by a camera inside the St. Martin Bank.
The sheriff’s department provided the Times with an image from the bank camera. The picture ran in Saturday’s paper.
“Within hours, not days or weeks, we received calls identifying the suspect and we subsequently arrested the individual for the robbery,” Sheriff John Sanner said.
Investigators also recovered the vehicle believed used by Fuchs to flee the robbery, Sanner said. They were getting a search warrant Monday to process the vehicle, he said.
Once Fuchs had been identified, investigators “started working backward and tied him into the stolen vehicle and the robbery,” Sanner said.
“We’re still looking into how he got from Paynesville to St. Cloud.”
A grand jury must convene to bring federal bank robbery charges. It’s expected that a complaint will be issued first, giving federal prosecutors 30 days to seek an indictment.
Fuchs could face charges in Stearns for stealing the Dodge Neon believed to be used in the robbery.