Minneapolis Man Sentenced To 17 Years In Prison For Violent Armed Robbery Of Downtown Minneapolis Bar And Violent Assault Of Corrections Officer While In Custody

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the sentencing of HAKEEM ALEXANDER COLES, 25, to 204 months in prison for Hobbs Act robbery and assault of a person assisting federal law enforcement officers. COLES, who pleaded guilty on July 16, 2020, was sentenced today before Senior Judge Ann D. Montgomery in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald said, “Mr. Coles inflicted extreme violence and injury on his victims. This type of violence is unacceptable in our communities and my office, along with our dedicated law enforcement partners, remains committed to holding accountable violent offenders such as this.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea, on August 17, 2019, COLES committed a violent armed robbery of Cowboy Jacks Bar and Grill in downtown Minneapolis. COLES, who had been fired from the restaurant the night before, held the general manager at gunpoint with a short-barreled shotgun and demanded that she fill a backpack with cash from the safe. COLES tied the victim’s hands with a phone cord and violently punched the victim in the side of her head, causing her to lose consciousness. COLES stole more than $24,000 from the business. COLES then fled to Texas where he allegedly committed another armed robbery and was eventually stopped and arrested in Louisiana, where he was found in possession of a semiautomatic pistol and another short-barreled shotgun. COLES has been federally charged with Hobbs Act robbery and firearms violations in Texas and Louisiana.

In January 2020, after being transferred back to the District of Minnesota on the Hobbs Act robbery indictment for Cowboy Jacks, COLES was ordered to remain in detention at the Sherburne County Jail in United States Marshal’s custody pending trial in the Cowboy Jack’s robbery case. On January 27, 2020, COLES attacked and violently assaulted a Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Officer, who was making rounds in the jail where COLES was housed, causing significant injuries including a traumatic brain injury.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshal’s Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar prosecuted the case.

Defendant Information:

HAKEEM ALEXANDER COLES, 25

Minneapolis, Minn.

Convicted:

• Hobbs Act robbery, 1 count
• Assault of a person assisting federal law enforcement officers, 1 count

Sentenced:

• 204 months in prison
• Three years of supervised release
• $86,200 in restitution

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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600