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Minneapolis Man Richard Woods, 38, Gets 25 Years In Prison For Armed Robberies

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 25 years in prison along with five years of supervised release after being convicted of two bank robberies and another robbery at a Minneapolis clothing store.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota reported that Richard Alonzo Woods, 38, committed the robberies in 2018 at Project SoZo in Minneapolis, as well as the Lake Area Bank in White Bear Lake and Bremer Bank in Brooklyn Center.

Woods, in 2021, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act, two counts of armed bank robbery, two counts of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery.

Court documents show that Woods didn't operate alone in any of the three incidents. When robbing the Minneapolis clothing store, Woods and two others brandished handguns and threatened both employees and customers. They made off with jewelry, money, and cell phones from the customers, roughly $600 in cash from the register, and other store merchandise, including Nike Air Jordan shoes valued at $1,900.

Woods and two accomplices reportedly made off with nearly $10,000 from Lake Area Bank, and about $88,000 from Bremer Bank.

On Friday, a judge sentenced 34-year-old Samuel Lamar Brantley to seven years in prison for his part in the robberies of Lake Area Bank and Bremer Bank.

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