Mequon Man Facing 40 Years, $100K in Fines for Bayside Bank Robbery

A 31-year-old Mequon man who admitted to robbing both M&I Bank in Mequon and in Bayside is now facing felony charges for robbery in Milwaukee County. 

According to the criminal complaint, received the call at 9:31 a.m. Saturday that US Bank had just been robbed. Officers took statements from the branch manager and the teller involved and broadcast a description of the man and his getaway car immediately. Just a few minutes later, Matthew Wick was picked up by police on Interstate 43 near Capitol Drive and Green Bay Road. 

Wick had been wearing a black winter jacket and black ski mask during the robbery, the bank teller told police; Wick walked up to the center teller window and said, "Give me the money. I have a bomb strapped to my body."

She began to pull out the cash from her drawer when he said, "Get me the big banded bills, I know you have them in the bottom drawer." Wick then took off his mask, revealing his face, and she handed him the banded bills totaling $3,840. 

After he was arrested, Wick waived his Miranda rights and told police robbing the second bank was an impulse decision.

He said he had gone to , across the street from US Bank, to buy cigarettes that morning — and that's where he formulated his plan.

While eyeing up the bank, he liked that it was near I-43. Wick told police he assumed he'd get caught for the Mequon bank robbery the day before, and he wanted to get out of town. So, he drove to the , put on his hoodie, jacket, hat, neck warmer and gloves, drove back to US Bank and walked in. 

Wick explained to police he told the teller to "get the straps" and she only had 10 seconds to do so. He began counting down. He never had a weapon on him, but said the teller must have assumed he had a bomb because he was counting down. As soon as she handed it over, he took the money and left. 

While driving south on I-43, he noticed squad cars on both sides of the freeway and when two got behind him, he knew that they had him, according to the complaint. He got off on Capitol Drive and tried to run from the car, but was quickly tackled and taken into custody. 

"I resorted to these drastic measures because I have been trying to fight the battle of addiction to Oxycodone for the last eight months," Wick wrote in his statement to police. 

Wick faces up to 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines for the Bayside robbery, and is expected to appear in Milwaukee County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. May 22.

He will also appear in Ozaukee County Court at 8:45 a.m. May 24 on additional felony charges of robbery with threat of force and bail jumping in connection with the US Bank robbery.