PRESS RELEASE: Rice Lake Man, John W. Vaudreuil, Sentenced for Two Bank Robberies

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Wisconsin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Rice Lake Man Sentenced for Two Bank Robberies

Madison, Wis. – John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Kyle Langner, 24, Rice Lake, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James Peterson to 114 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for the robbery of Shell Lake State Bank and Bremer Bank in 2014. Langner was also ordered to pay $14,171 restitution. Langner pleaded guilty to these charges on October 15, 2015.

On May 2, 2014, Shell Lake State Bank in Stone Lake, Wis., was robbed by two armed gunman. On May 28, 2014, Bremer Bank in Danbury, Wis., was robbed by a lone armed gunman. On July 16, 2014, Sterling Bank in Rice Lake, Wis., was robbed by a lone armed gunman.

Shortly after the Sterling Bank robbery, Langner’s half-brother, Jesse Sweeter, was apprehended by law enforcement and confessed to the robberies of Shell Lake State Bank and Sterling Bank. Further investigation led to the arrest of Kyle Langner and Ricky White in connection with the robberies. Sweeter was sentenced to 114 months in federal prison on July 22, 2015. White is scheduled to be sentenced on February 23, 2016.

Both Sweeter’s and Langner’s sentences consist of 30 months imprisonment for bank robberies and a consecutive seven years imprisonment for brandishing a firearm during a bank robbery. Additionally, the 30-month federal sentence will run concurrently with sentences they are both currently serving in state prison after being convicted of robbing gas stations in Eau Claire, Wis.

The convictions of Langner, Sweeter and White are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Barron, Sawyer, and Washburn County Sheriffs’ Offices; and the Rice Lake Police Department. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie S. Pfluger and Timothy M. O’Shea.