Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 92 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for two armed bank robberies and firearms violations. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on February 22, 2018, Samuel Lamar Brantley, 34, and two accomplices entered Lake Area Bank in White Bear Lake brandishing guns and demanding money from the tellers. Brantley was armed with a .40 caliber Glock handgun. During the robbery, Brantley ensured that none of the employees made phone calls or alerted law enforcement. Brantley and his accomplices stole approximately $9,816 in cash from the bank and split the proceeds.

According to court documents, on May 4, 2018, Brantley and an accomplice entered Bremer Bank in Brooklyn Center brandishing guns and demanding money from the tellers. Brantley was armed with a .40 caliber Glock handgun. A third accomplice was waiting in a getaway car. Brantley and his accomplices stole approximately $88,618 in cash from the bank and split the proceeds.

According to court documents, on May 21, 2018, following a shooting incident near Brantley’s residence, Brantley’s acquaintance, identified as “the Shooter,” handed off two handguns to Brantley. The next morning, Brantley met the Shooter at a Perkins restaurant so he could return the two firearms. During the course of their conversation, the Shooter told Brantley that he had used the firearms to shoot a man the night before.

On October 8, 2020, Brantley pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery, one count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, and one count of disposing of a firearm to a felon.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Minneapolis Police Department, the White Bear Lake Police Department, and the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha H. Bates and Amber M. Brennan.

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