MINNEAPOLIS – A Kansas man was sentenced to 77 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for an early morning armed robbery of a Menards store in West St. Paul, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on September 27, 2021, Cornelius Graham, 61, of Kansas City, Kansas, went to the Menards store in West St. Paul and hid inside the store until it closed. Early on the morning of September 28, 2021, Graham confronted the store manager as he was opening the store for the day. Graham brandished a firearm and took cash from the store manager.
Graham was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Ann D. Montgomery. On June 1, 2022, Graham pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery. Because Graham was on supervised release for separate robbery convictions in the District of Kansas, Graham received an additional sentence of 23 months, increasing his total sentence to 100 months in prison.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the West St. Paul Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp prosecuted the case.