Waite Park Man Sentenced For Attempted Bank Robbery

(KNSI) – The man who held up a Wells Fargo bank in St. Cloud in 2021 has been sentenced to federal prison.

Ray Reco McNeary of Waite Park must pay $8,210 in restitution and will be behind bars for 78 months, which is six and a half years. McNeary was sentenced in federal court, so he will not be eligible for early parole.

McNeary was accused of walking into the bank branch on May 6th, 2021, and demanding to talk to someone about fraud in his account. The manager helped him, but he could not locate an account registered under his name.

When McNeary was told that, he became angry and yelled at the manager to take $60,000 from the vault and put it into a bank bag for him to leave with. The silent alarm was triggered, and police rushed to the location.

McNeary took five employees hostage to keep St. Cloud Police officers at bay. He pressed scissors against the neck and back of the manager multiple times while he negotiated with a team from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Over time, four out of the five employees were let go. The manager finally was able to run from the building, allowing police to swarm McNeary and take him into custody. The standoff lasted nearly eight hours.

The 39-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery in March.

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