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Bank teller actions helped catch Exeland bank robbers

Eau Claire (WQOW) - Police don't recommend it but the actions of a bank teller last week may have helped them catch the suspects in a robbery.

After the Dairyland State Bank in Exeland was robbed last Friday, investigators say the teller told someone who was outside the bank that it had been robbed. That person then followed the suspects in their car.  

Eventually, police spotted the suspect's car. That led to a chase which ended with gunshots.   Officers say Rudy Frenzer shot at them before they fired back. Frenzer died. Two other suspects were arrested.

Court records show one of them, Steven Willard, spoke openly about the robbery. Officers say Willard told them he just met Frenzer that day.

He says Robert McCallie called him and talked him into it. They met at Frenzer's home before driving to Ladysmith where they bought two Halloween masks to use in the robbery: Richard Nixon and Bernie Madoff.

During the chase with police, Willard says he and McCallie were ordered out of the car and ran into the woods. When Willard was later arrested, he had almost $11,000 stuffed in his sock.   At this point, McCallie is the only one who's been charged with armed robbery.