Waite Park Man Pleads Guilty in 2021 St. Cloud Bank Robbery

MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) -- A Waite Park man has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a 2021 bank robbery.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 38-year-old Ray McNeary pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery.

Court records show on the afternoon of May 6th, 2021, McNeary went into the Wells Fargo Bank at 200 33rd Avenue South in St. Cloud claiming there was fraud on his bank account. According to the documents, the bank's manager could not find an account in McNeary's name.

Records show McNeary got upset and demanded $60,000 in cash be taken from the vault, put in a bank bag, and handed over. Court documents show the manager activated the silent alarm to notify law enforcement.

St. Cloud police officers arrived to find five employees of the bank being held hostage inside by McNeary. The standoff lasted nearly nine hours while police and FBI members negotiated with McNeary. Court records show multiple times during the standoff, McNeary held a pair of scissors against the bank manager's neck and back.

According to the documents, four hostages were released over the course of the standoff. Officers were finally able to enter and arrest McNeary when the bank manager fled the building just before 10:30 p.m.

McNeary will be sentenced at a later date.