Vandewalker Pleads Guilty

A brazen bank robbery in Frederika, Iowa, ended with a guilty plea in federal court. Steven Vandewalker, 38, from Waterloo, Iowa, admitted to robbing the Farmer’s Savings Bank and assaulting a customer during the heist.

On October 23, 2012, Vandewalker entered the bank around 12:30 p.m., brandishing a handgun and wearing a disguise. He yelled at a bank employee and a customer to get on the floor, then brutally pistol-whipped the customer, causing them to fall to the ground.

Vandewalker then made his way behind the teller counter, where he demanded cash from the drawers and the bank safe. The teller complied, and Vandewalker fled the scene with over $36,000. Just three days later, on October 26, 2012, officers searched Vandewalker’s home in Waterloo, finding $26,000 in cash and a handgun.

Vandewalker’s guilty plea includes one count of bank robbery and using a dangerous weapon to assault another person during the course of the robbery. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case against Vandewalker was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sentencing for Vandewalker will be set after a presentence report is prepared. He remains detained pending sentencing, which will be decided by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number 13-2010.

The guilty plea brings closure to the shocking crime, which left a community reeling. The investigation and prosecution demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement to bringing perpetrators to justice and holding them accountable for their actions.