Two Face Federal Charges Stemming from Bank Robbery in Ridgeland

MADISON, WI—Stephen P. Sinnott, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Christopher Gordon, 44, of Ingram, Wis., and David Best, 21, of Hawkins, Wis., face federal charges stemming from the October 14, 2009 robbery of the Security Bank in Ridgeland, Wis. The indictment was returned yesterday by a federal grand jury sitting in Madison, and was unsealed today following the arrest of Gordon.

Christopher Gordon is charged with conspiring to rob the Security Bank with Rudolph Frenzer and Robert McCallie. If convicted of the conspiracy charge, Gordon faces up to five years in federal prison. He will make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Madison today.

Frenzer was killed in a shootout with police on October 30, 2009, following the robbery of the Dairyland State Bank in Exeland, Wis. On May 17, 2010, McCallie pleaded guilty in federal court in Madison to robbing both the Dairyland State Bank and the Security Bank. His sentencing is scheduled for July 27, 2010, before Judge William M. Conley.

David Best is charged with knowingly receiving proceeds from the Security Bank robbery. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison. Best will make an initial appearance on June 11, 2010.

The charges against these men are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sawyer County Sheriff's Department; Birchwood Police Department; Price County Sheriff's Department; Rusk County Sheriff's Department; Washburn County Sheriff's Department; Barron County Sheriff's Department; Rice Lake Police Department; Rhinelander Police Department; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; and Wisconsin State Patrol. The prosecution of this case is being handled by
United States Attorney Sinnott.

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.