News and Press Releases
South Dakota man indicted for robbing Arden Hills, Bloomington banks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment unsealed earlier this week charges a 44-year-old South Dakota man with robbing two Twin Cities’ banks during the first week of 2012. The indictment, which was filed on April 3, 2012, charges William Roy St. John, of Sisseton, South Dakota, with two counts of bank robbery. The indictment was unsealed following St. John’s initial appearance in federal court.
The indictment alleges that on January 2, 2012, St. John stole approximately $3,810 from the US Bank on Lyndale Avenue South in Bloomington and, on January 4, 2012, stole approximately $5,520 from the Wells Fargo Bank on County Road E in Arden Hills. Surveillance images from both banks determined the suspect was the same man.
During the execution of a state search warrant at a Minneapolis apartment on January 5, 2012, authorities recovered clothing and other items similar to those used by the robber. On January 7, 2012, St. John was arrested in Bloomington after several unsuccessful home invasions, carjackings, kidnappings, and auto thefts. He has been charged and convicted in Hennepin County District Court in connection with those crimes. It has also been determined that St. John is wanted on a federal warrant out of the District of North Dakota for violation of supervised release.
If convicted of the federal charges now filed against him in the District of Minnesota, St. John faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of bank robbery. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Bloomington Police Department, and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Dunne.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
