Man federally charged in St. Cloud bank hostage situation
Ray Reco McNeary has been charged in connection to a hostage situation at a St. Cloud, Minnesota bank. (Stearns County Jail)
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - The man accused of holding five people hostage at a Wells Fargo bank in St. Cloud, Minnesota has now been federally charged with bank robbery by the District of Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office.
Ray McNeary made his appearance in federal court on Wednesday morning. He is currently in custody at the Sherburne County Jail.
McNeary was charged last week by the Stearns County Attorney with five counts of non-firearm kidnapping, one count of first-degree aggravated robbery and one count of second-degree assault for allegedly wielding a pair of scissors against the bank manager's neck.
According to court documents, on May 6, McNeary went to the Wells Fargo at 200 33rd Avenue in St. Cloud claiming there was fraud in his bank account. He became upset when the bank manager did not find an existing account. McNeary then demanded $60,000 from the bank vault, threatened bank employees and held five of them hostage. Negotiations lasted more than eight hours until authorities arrested him. No one was injured.
The bank location has since reopened for some services.