Waite Park man gets 6 years for armed holdup of St. Cloud bank

A Waite Park man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for a St. Cloud bank robbery that resulted in an eight-hour standoff.

Ray Reco McNeary, 39, was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release in U.S. District Court on Thursday. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery.

According to court documents, McNeary entered a Wells Fargo branch on 33rd Avenue South in St. Cloud on May 6 of 2021 and claimed there had been fraud on his account.

When a bank manager was unable to locate any accounts belonging to him, McNeary demanded $60,000 in cash.

During the incident, McNeary held five bank employees hostage and repeatedly held a pair of scissors to the bank manager's neck and back.

FBI negotiators spoke with McNeary during the standoff. All five employees were eventually able to leave the building, and McNeary was arrested.