A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for the violent armed robberies of two Twin Cities area gas stations and a motel in early 2020.
U.S. District Judge David Doty on Thursday sentenced Keanu R. Ross of Minneapolis to a term six months longer than prosecutors had recommended.
Ross also must serve five years of supervised release after leaving prison and pay more than $1,850 in restitution.
He pleaded guilty in January to robbery and weapons charges after holding up Speedway gas stations in Columbia Heights and Fridley, and a Super 8 motel in Brooklyn Center in less than two weeks in February 2020.
Antoinette Deniece Mae Dobyne, 30, of Fargo has been convicted as his accomplice in the gas station robberies and awaits sentencing.
In their pre-sentence filing, federal prosecutors blamed Ross for four robberies and said he "threatened to shoot store employees, physically assaulted one — by kicking the employee in the face while the employee was on the ground — and fired his gun at the motel [employee], who was told to run from the robbery scene."
Ross stole cash, cigarettes, lottery tickets and an employee's cellphone, according to the filing.
"The defendant also posted on his Facebook account offering various ... stolen tobacco products for sale shortly after one of the robberies," the document said.
