St. Paul Man Sentenced for Bank Robbery

A 25-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced today in federal court for robbing the Guaranty Bank in Maplewood on February 10, 2009.

United States District Court Judge Joan Ericksen sentenced James Matthew Hood to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release on one count of bank robbery. Hood was indicted on March 10, 2009, and pleaded guilty on June 4, 2009.

In the plea agreement, Hood admitted he stole $2,355 from the bank, which is located in a Rainbow Foods store at 2501 White Bear Avenue North.

According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit, at approximately 1 p.m., the robber, later identified as Hood, entered the store. He walked up and down a few aisles and placed some items in a shopping cart before heading to the bank. There, he handed a note to a teller. The note read, “I have a gun - you know what to do - 100's, 50's, 20's no boobie [sic] traps or you will regret it.” Out loud Hood said, “I have a gun; you have ten seconds; be quick.” After receiving the cash, Hood fled on foot. As Hood left the bank, a dye pack hidden within the cash exploded.

The Maplewood Police Department, responding to the robbery, found a winter coat in the parking lot. In the pocket of the coat was a large amount of dye-stained cash, a fake gun and a cellular telephone. On the phone, police found stored telephone numbers and video footage of a man, who witnesses identified as the robber. Authorities traced some of the phone numbers stored in the recovered cell phone and learned that it was Hood’s phone.

This case was the result of an investigation by the FBI, the Maplewood Police Department and the St. Paul Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Petterson.

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