Wis. trooper's shooter linked to hate-crime group

Sharon Roznik | The (Fond du Lac, Wis.) Reporter

Show Caption Hide Caption Hate crime victim talks about WI trooper shooter Not much is known yet about bank robber Steven Timothy Snyder, the 38-year-old Michigan man who killed Wisconsin State Trooper Trevor Casper in a shootout Tuesday.

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Not much is known yet about bank robber Steven Timothy Snyder, the 38-year-old Michigan man who killed Wisconsin State Trooper Trevor Casper in a shootout Tuesday.

Snyder, who robbed the State Bank of Florence in Wausaukee then reportedly killed Thomas C. Christ, 59, nearby shortly afterward, died in the exchange of gunfire with Casper, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.

Although it hasn't been officially confirmed, it appears this isn't the first time Snyder has visited Fond du Lac. In 1996 a 19-year-old Steven Timothy Snyder from Michigan with the same birthdate of March 2, 1977, was a member of a white supremacy group that called itself "The Fond du Lac Boot Boys."

Anne E. Schwartz, director of communication and public affairs for the Department of Justice, confirmed the birthdate that matches the one on a 1996 Fond du Lac criminal complaint, but would not release more information while the shooting investigation continues. Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy report would not be available for six to eight weeks, pending toxicology reports.

1996 fight

Snyder and eight others were arrested in March 1996 after a fight broke out involving skinheads, African-Americans and Hispanics outside a house at 100 S. Military Road, according to The Reporter's court case files. The youth ranged in age from 15 to 19 and carried business cards that included a local post office box number and a Celtic cross. The cards referred to "The Fond du Lac Boot Boys."

A police officer who had been keeping an eye on the groups saw the skinheads rush the porch of the home and pick up rakes and shovels. Confiscated weapons included baseball bats and metal pipes.

When interviewed by detectives, Snyder, whose address was listed as 49411 Romeo Plank, Macomb Township, Mich., denied being a skinhead recruiter. However, he said he had skinhead beliefs and that he "was influential, but not a leader," according to an article that appeared in The Reporter on April 9, 1996.

He was described as wearing "White Power" clothing, including black boots and iron cross paraphernalia, the criminal complaint stated. He had several "White Power" tattoos on his body.

Snyder told police that he had moved to Fond du Lac two months before looking for a job. When arrested, he was carrying several business cards for the "National Alliance," a white supremacist organization in Hillsboro, W.Va.

Accompanying the card was literature with the National Alliance creed: "We believe … That the future is what we make it. That we have a responsibility for the racial quality of the coming generation of our people. That no multi-racial society is a healthy society. That if the white race is to survive we must unite our people on the basis of common blood, organize them within a progressive social order and inspire them with a common set of values. That time to begin is now."

A 16-year-old in the group told police they were only violent when they needed to be. During questioning by police, many of the skinheads responded with: "Achtung," the German word for "attention." They told authorities they felt a need to suppress any nationality but white.

Victim speaks out

Lucas Soto of Fond du Lac, who is of Native American and Mexican descent, said he was 15 years old back then when the skinhead group started to follow him. At the time, he lived with his family at the Military Road address in an area of the city where black and Hispanic families resided.

"There were 30 skinheads in the front yard and they all got sticks and poles and a gun and they were yelling that we had to leave or they would burn our house down," he said. "At the time I was a kid and I had grown men staring at me with weapons. Stuff like that just kept happening."

Fond du Lac Police Officer Lee Mikulec noted in his report that the groups had been playing "tag" all night. This involved the groups keeping watch on each other as they moved around the city.

Soto said the skinheads traveled around in trucks decorated with swastikas and Confederate flags. Officers noted that the group had shaved heads and wore black, steel-toed boots with red laces and bomber jackets trimmed with swastikas. One man had the words "White Power" tattooed across his shoulder blades with a swastika between the words, according to The Reporter article.

Wisconsin state trooper, bank-robbery suspect killed A Wisconsin state trooper was killed while pursuing a bank-robbery suspect in Fond du Lac. The suspect was also killed in an exchange of gunfire.

"I am surprised to hear what Snyder did. I wouldn't suspect him of being a bank robber," Soto said. "He was just young and dumb at the time. I am not surprised that it escalated into what it did."

Jail sentence

After Snyder pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct, Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Judge Peter Grimm ordered him to serve a 50-day jail sentence, pay $80 in court costs, and provide a $150 donation to the Fond du Lac City Crime Prevention Fund.

Snyder told police he was moving back to Michigan, along with Joshua Boshell, who had also moved to Fond du Lac from Macomb County, where he and Snyder had been good friends. Boswell was also convicted of disorderly conduct.

Snyder shows no other criminal record in Wisconsin, according to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access.