A Waite Park man has been handed a 78-month prison sentence following an armed bank robbery that occurred in 2021. U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced the sentencing on Thursday, stating that the man will also face five years of supervised release and is ordered to pay $8,210 in restitution.
Ray Reco McNeary, 39, entered a Wells Fargo Bank in St. Cloud on May 6, 2021, and initiated a dangerous series of events when he could not find evidence of his bank account and the fraud he claimed was associated with it. Triggering a silent panic alarm after demanding $60,000 from the vault, the bank manager set law enforcement on a path to the bank. Hostages were taken by McNeary, armed with a pair of scissors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The situation escalated into an eight-hour standoff with St. Cloud police officers and FBI negotiators, during which various employees were held hostage. McNeary is said to have physically threatened a bank manager multiple times with the scissors during this ordeal, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota. The standoff came to an end when the bank manager managed to escape, leading law enforcement to arrest McNeary.
Earlier this year, on March 29, McNeary pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery. His sentence was delivered in U.S. District Court by Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan. The case was brought to a close through the efforts of the St. Cloud Police Department and the FBI, as recounted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp, who prosecuted the case.
