Waite Park Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Bank Robbery

ST PAUL, Minn. – A Waite Park man has pleaded guilty to a St. Cloud bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on May 6, 2021, Ray Reco McNeary, 38, entered a Wells Fargo Bank in St. Cloud and alleged that there was fraud on his bank account. After the bank manager was unable to locate any accounts belonging to McNeary, McNeary became enraged and demanded that $60,000 in cash be taken from the vault and placed in a bank bag. The bank manager activated the silent panic alarm, notifying law enforcement of a problem at the bank.

According to court documents, upon arrival, St. Cloud police officers learned that five employees of the bank were being held hostage by McNeary. Multiple times throughout the incident, McNeary held a pair of scissors against the bank manager’s neck and back. FBI hostage negotiators spoke with McNeary repeatedly during what turned out to be an eight-hour standoff. During the course of negotiations, four of the employees were allowed to leave the bank. The standoff ended at approximately 10:24 p.m. when the bank manager fled the bank and law enforcement moved into the bank and arrested McNeary.

McNeary pleaded guilty today to one count of armed bank robbery in U.S. District Court before Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.  

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the St. Cloud Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp is prosecuting the case.