MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Todd Templeton, 52, Stoughton, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 10 years in prison for three bank robberies. Templeton pleaded guilty to these charges on November 3, 2021.
On February 24, 2021, Templeton robbed the Associated Bank on King Street in Stoughton. He approached a teller, lifted his shirt to display a black handgun tucked into his waistband, and demanded money telling them “Don’t press any buttons.”
On February 26, 2021, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the Town of Dunn after Templeton crashed a stolen snowmobile and was warming his hands on the gas grill of the complainant’s porch. He admitted to drinking alcohol and using cocaine and was admitted to the hospital due to cold exposure injuries on his hands and feet.
On March 1, 2021, Templeton left the hospital against medical advice and stole a family member’s truck. On the morning of March 3, 2021, Templeton robbed the Associated Bank on Cottage Grove Road in Madison. He gave the teller a note stating that he was armed and demanded money.
On March 11, 2021, Templeton robbed the SunTrust Bank on East Third Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He approached a banker, pulled a handgun from his waistband, and said “I want you to empty the vault, this is a robbery.” He was later apprehended by FBI task force agents in Cleveland, Tennessee. Templeton claimed that he used a BB gun, which he had discarded.
At the time of these offenses, Templeton was on supervised release after serving approximately 11 years in federal prison for a 2007 bank robbery conviction. In that case, Templeton entered a bank in Baraboo, approached a teller and said, “Open the drawer and give me the money or you’ll be shot.” Three days later, he entered a bank in Janesville, exposed a black handgun in his waistband, and demanded money. After his initial term of supervised release was revoked in 2020, he was released from federal prison on January 27, 2021, and began a second term of federal supervision.
At sentencing, Judge Conley said that these were very serious offenses and noted the effects on the victims, specifically threats against their lives and displaying a handgun even if it was a BB gun as Templeton claimed. Judge Conley said that statistics relating to lowered criminal risk with age did not apply to Templeton, and the specific evidence here was to the contrary: that Templeton has escalated his behavior and went right back to committing bank robberies when released from prison. Judge Conley stated that in between periods of serial incarceration, Templeton has been unsuccessful on community supervision with numerous violations including drug use, failure to follow rules, and absconding, therefore a significant period of incarceration was necessary to protect the public.
In addition to imposing 10 years prison on the 2021 robberies, Judge Conley revoked Templeton’s supervised release in the 2007 case and sentenced him to an additional three years in prison, for a total of 13 years. Templeton was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay restitution.
The charges against Templeton were the result of investigations conducted by the Stoughton and Madison Police Departments, Chattanooga, Tennessee Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee assisted in this case. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.