Charges: Man tries to rob bank using St. Paul police officer's business card

Deanna Weniger, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
·1 min read

Sep. 2—A central Minnesota man was charged Wednesday after attempting to rob a downtown St. Paul bank.

Tyrel Steven Kaiser, 39, of Bird Island, Minn., was charged with one felony count of attempted aggravated robbery in the second degree for pretending to do an audit, insinuating that he had a gun and using the business card of a St. Paul police officer as his identification.

According to the Ramsey County District Court criminal complaint, about 2 p.m. Monday, Kaiser walked into the U.S. Bank branch at 101 E. Fifth St. A teller told police that he approached her and said he was "doing an audit and I don't want you to get in trouble," the complaint states.

The teller asked him his name and Kaiser handed her a business card from a St. Paul police officer. Kaiser has no affiliation with the department, the complaint states.

He wrote on the back of the card, "$1,000" and "I want this." When the teller asked him for his identification, he grabbed the card, put it in his pocket and said, "This is my gun."

A security guard noticed Kaiser acting strangely, and when he heard him mention a gun, he ordered him to the ground to wait for the police. He obeyed, shouting, "Just shoot me," the complaint states.

Kaiser was unarmed when taken into custody. Kaiser has multiple felony convictions on his record, including threats of violence and coercion convictions from 2016.

His next court appearance is Sept. 20.