Missouri Man Indicted for Robbing Columbia Heights and Minneapolis Banks

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a 28-year-old Missouri man in connection with two Minnesota bank robberies that occurred in November of 2009. In the indictment, which was filed with the U.S. District Court earlier today, Dorrell Emmanuel King, of Belton, Missouri, was charged with two counts of bank robbery. The indictment alleges King took $3,750 from a US Bank in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, on November 17, 2009, and $3,460 from a TCF Bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 19, 2009.

According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit, the US Bank was robbed at 1:30 p.m., November 17, by a lone man. After attempting unsuccessfully to obtain money via a check card, the man, later identified as King, allegedly gave a teller a pay stub with “robbery” written on it. Then, upon demanding and receiving cash, he fled the premises on foot.

The TCF Bank, located inside a Cub Foods store, was robbed at 2 p.m., November 19, 2009, again by a lone man. The man allegedly handed a teller a check stub with “10 stacks” written on it. He also allegedly gave the teller a pre-paid debit card and requested a cash advance against it. After seeing no name on the card, the teller said the transaction could not be completed. To that, the man, later identified as King, allegedly responded, “Okay, let me show you what I need.” He then purportedly wrote “robbery” on the check stub and gave it back to the teller. The teller, in return, gave him cash, which included a dye pack. After grabbing the cash, the man quickly left the premises.

Police responded to the scene, where they retrieved dye-stained money from the ground outside the store. Witnesses to the crime reported seeing a man, clouded in red smoke, walking away from the store. In addition, the store’s exterior surveillance video purportedly showed the dye pack exploding in the robber’s hands as he tried to get inside a parked taxi.

Shortly after the incident, a man matching the robber’s description was allegedly spotted in a nearby Target parking lot, ducking behind cars. The man was subsequently apprehended by law enforcement. At the time of his arrest, the man’s hands and clothing were stained with red dye.

If convicted of these crimes, King faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department, the FBI, and the Columbia Heights Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Dunne.