Man sentenced to more than 17 years in armed robberies of gas stations, hotel
MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for robbing two gas stations and a hotel at gunpoint in February of 2020.
Court documents say Keanu Dewone Ross, 30, pulled what appeared to be a firearm when he robbed a Speedway in Columbia Heights on Feb. 4, 2020. He stole $140 in cash, tobacco, and lottery tickets and ran to his accomplice Antoinette Deniece Mae Dobyne, who was parked in an SUV a few blocks away.
On Feb. 12, 2020, Ross robbed another Speedway in Fridley. He kicked the employee in the face and fled with more than $700 in cash and other items.
Then on Feb. 14, 2020, he stole $550 from a Super 8 Hotel in Brooklyn Center with another accomplice. During the robbery, they told an employee to run from the scene, and as he did so a gunshot was heard, the complaint says.
Later that day, Ross was detained during a traffic stop by the Minneapolis police. Officers found a semiautomatic pistol in the car, which matched the discharged casing officers found at the scene of the hotel.
Ross pleaded guilty in January of 2022 to to three counts of aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery, and one count of using and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced Thursday to 17-and-a-half years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Dobyne, 30, has also been charged in connection to the string of robberies. Her sentencing is scheduled for a later date.