Police confirm Wis. bank robbery suspect also robbed Minn. bank

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) _ Local police said they have confirmed that the North Dakota autobody shop owner suspected of robbing two Wisconsin banks also robbed a Minnesota bank last year.

Fergus Falls Police Chief Tim Brennan said Thursday that Alfred Knodle had been positively identified as the robber who struck the Bank of the West branch on the west side of Fergus Falls in January 2006.

The suspect did not show any weapons and no one was hurt.

Knodle was suspected of robbing two banks in Hudson, Wis., last month. After the last robbery, on Oct. 31, Knodle drove to a parking lot in Stillwater and killed himself after a police chase.

Knodle lived in Fargo, N.D., and owned an autobody shop in West Fargo.