United States Attorneys' Office
District of Minnesota

PRESS RELEASE. Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Contact:   Rachel K. Paulose, United States Attorney 
Jeanne F. Cooney, Director of External Relations

Media Line:  1-888-264-5107

Minneapolis  - The man who robbed a U.S. Bank in St. Paul in December of 2005 was sentenced today in U.S. District Court.  Yobanis Abel Betharte, age 22, of St. Paul, was sentenced by Chief Judge James M. Rosenbaum to 120 months in federal prison for his crime.  

Court documents in this case indicate that on December 23, 2005, Betharte entered the U.S. Bank on Payne Avenue armed with a nine-milometer Luger semiautomatic pistol.  He ordered everyone to the ground.  Betharte then jumped over the counter and removed money from two teller stations.  While the robbery was in progress, a witness outside the bank phoned for help.  Arriving on the scene, St. Paul police saw a man matching the robber’s description running from the direction of the bank.  They observed him carrying a handgun and a black bag.  They gave chase and quickly apprehended him.  At the time of his arrest, the man, later identified as Betharte, was found in possession of a nine-milometer Luger pistol.  The bag Betharte had been carrying was located on the roof of a nearby residence.  Inside the bag, police found cash and bait bills from the bank. 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Paul Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Tricia A. Tingle prosecuted the case.