Man Pleads Guilty In Whtie Bear Bar Robbery

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A St. Paul man pleaded guilty in Minneapolis Federal Court on Thursday to charges in connection with the robbery of a White Bear Lake bar last November.

Maurice Anthony Lewis, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of interference of commerce by robbery and one count of aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm. Lewis was indicted on April 20.

In the plea agreement, Lewis admitted that on Nov. 27, 2010, he and two other men traveled to the White Bear Bar for a robbery. He admitted to assisting his two armed accomplices in robbing the bar at gunpoint and taking money from patrons by actual and threatened force.

During the robbery, Lewis fled to a vehicle in the parking lot after a patron pulled off his mask in the bar. According to court documents, three men entered the bar just before closing time. About 50 patrons were in the bar when the men brandished guns and told everyone to get down on the floor.

Surveillance video showed the men pushing the customers. During the robbery, a patron grabbed the barrel of a gun held by one of the robbers and a skirmish ensued. During the struggle the gun fired, striking another patron in the leg.

After grabbing money out of the office safe and from customers, the two remaining robbers fled to their get-away car across the street, and the three men fled in the car.

Lewis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on one charge and a minimum penalty of seven years in prison on the other charge.