Isabella man pleads guilty to robbery charge

• Robert Kenneth Moore

An Isabella man pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing the Lake Bank Super One Branch in Two Harbors on Christmas Eve. Robert Kenneth Moore, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery in federal district court in Minneapolis. Photo from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

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An Isabella man pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing the Lake Bank Super One Branch in Two Harbors on Christmas Eve.

Robert Kenneth Moore, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery in federal district court in Minneapolis. Moore admitted stealing approximately $6,669 from the bank. He faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Judge John R. Tunheim will determine his sentence at a future hearing.

Moore was originally charged in state district court in Lake County for the robbery. According to the state criminal complaint, the bank teller described how a man came up to her window and “displayed a note to her saying that the male had a gun and that the teller was to give the individual all the money she had, that she was to be quiet and was advised not to put any dyes in the bag.”

The teller said she placed $180 worth of “bait money” — bills that the bank photocopies and keeps serial number records on — into the Lake Bank bag that she also was filling with the rest of the money in her till and was “shaking because she was so afraid.”

On Christmas Day, the Two Harbors Police Department received a tip that the robber was in an apartment in Proctor. At 1:15 a.m. that day officers were allowed in the apartment, where they found Moore hiding in the bathroom. Authorities also discovered cash sealed in The Lake Bank strap.

Moore was indicted on the federal charge on Jan. 24.