MINNEAPOLIS — A judge has sentenced a Minneapolis man to 17 years in prison for a violent armed robbery of a downtown Minneapolis bar and a violent assault of a corrections officer while in custody.
U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced Thursday the sentencing of Hakeem Alexander Coles, 25, to 204 months in prison.
Coles had already pleaded guilty on July 16, 2020.
According to the defendant's guilty plea, on August 17, 2019, Coles committed a violent armed robbery of Cowboy Jacks Bar and Grill in downtown Minneapolis.
Coles, who had been fired from Cowboy Jacks the night before, held the general manager at gunpoint with a shotgun and demanded that she fill a backpack with cash from the safe, prosecutors said.
Coles tied the victim's hands with a phone cord and punched the victim in the side of her head, causing her to lose consciousness, according to prosecutors.
Authorities say Coles stole more than $24,000 from Cowboy Jacks. He then fled to Texas where he allegedly committed another armed robbery and was eventually stopped and arrested in Louisiana, where he was found in possession of a pistol and a shotgun. Coles has been federally charged with robbery and firearms violations in Texas and Louisiana.
On January 27, 2020, Coles attacked and assaulted a Sherburne County Sheriff's Office Corrections Officer, causing significant injuries including a traumatic brain injury, according to prosecutors.
