DULUTH -- An Eveleth man will spend more than two decades in federal prison for holding up a Virginia, Minn., credit union at gunpoint - his second bank robbery conviction in five years.
Neiman Regis Adams, 27, was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Duluth to 21½ years in prison for the Aug. 13, 2013, robbery of the Virginia Cooperative Credit Union. A jury found Adams guilty of one count of armed bank robbery at his trial in April.
The incident happened just six months after Adams was released from custody in a separate bank robbery case. In 2009, he was convicted of robbing a Coon Rapids bank.
In the Virginia robbery, police said Adams entered the credit union with another man and brandished a handgun. He ordered everyone to the ground, while an accomplice collected more than $53,000 from the teller drawers, according to evidence presented at trial.
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Adams was taken into custody several days later.
Federal prosecutors cited Adams’ criminal history in asking for a stiff sentence. They also argued in a memorandum that he “manipulated and exploited” friends to cover up for him and stymie investigators. The money and weapon were never recovered.
