Minnesota bank hostage suspect had previous arrests, was released in March on conditional bail
Would-be bank robber Ray Reco McNeary has been arrested several times for domestic assault, records show
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The suspect involved in a standoff with police at a Minnesota Wells Fargo Thursday was already a suspect in an ongoing case involving felony charges -- but was released after only five days despite a hefty bail, according to court records.
Ray Reco McNeary, 35, was arrested following an hours-long hostage situation stemming from an attempted bank robbery at the St. Cloud branch of Wells Fargo. McNeary was charged with aggravated robbery, kidnapping and second-degree assault.
However, McNeary was already the subject of a court case that started in early March.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bank suspect Ray Reco McNeary (mug)
McNeary was arrested on March 7 and charged with two counts of felony domestic assault. He made four court appearances over the course of the month, changing lawyers twice during that time, according to court records.
McNeary had also been previously arrested and convicted on a similar domestic assault charge in 2017.
His court appearance on March 9 in county court was under a Rule 5/Rule 8 hearing, marking both a first and second appearance, likely noting the fact that it was a repeat offense, according to records.
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A first offense for domestic assault in Minnesota would result in up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.
Stearns County Jail records do not indicate that McNeary served time for his first offense; however, he was listed as an inmate both on March 7 and March 26 of this year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bail for his March 7 booking was set at $50,000, and he was released five days later -- just a few days after his first court appearance, according to records. Felicia Fanhorst, a senior clerk with the Stearn County courts, told Fox News that McNeary posted bond in March, meaning the bail was paid on his behalf.
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The full bail was on unconditional release, but a bond company -- Easy Bail Bonds -- posted $10,000 for a conditional release.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The conditions of that lower bond included a number of measures, such as fingerprints, keeping in touch with his attorney, remain law-abiding, refrain from contacting victims and maintain a distance of 500 feet from the victims.
The names of the victims, as well as their relation to McNeary, have not been made public.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wendy Strum, McNeary's lawyer, filed a motion for May 18 that aims to preclude the current judge from hearing the case.
Prison records also indicate that McNeary may have had five previous bookings at the county jail when he was between 21 and 23 years old, according to documents. Most of these arrests were also for domestic assault charges, with other charges of criminal property damage and conspiracy to sell a controlled substance.
Strum told Fox News that McNeary's pretrial evaluation scored relatively low, likely due to the fact that these previous convictions occurred so long ago.
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The new trial will likely track alongside his pending assault trial.