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Charges: Man Robbed Bank To Make Rent

HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A 37-year-old West St. Paul man is accused of robbing a West St. Paul bank so he could pay his rent, according to charges filed Thursday in Dakota County District Court.

Lewis Ross was charged with second-degree aggravated robbery in connection with the incident, which happened on Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint, officers were dispatched to a TCF Bank located off Robert Street in West St. Paul on a report of a holdup alarm. When they arrived, a bank teller told police that a man entered the bank that morning and told the teller he had a gun and demanded money.

The teller gave the man $200. The man was seen running through nearby property after the robbery and eventually into a store bathroom. Police traced Ross to an apartment building, and authorities showed the building owner his picture.

The building owner gave police Ross's apartment number. Police knocked on his door, he answered it and they arrested him without incident. When asked about the robbery, Ross told police that his landlord said he needed to come up with rent money that day or he would be evicted.

If convicted, Ross faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and/or $30,000.

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