Michael Brooks Bynum, Armed Robbery, Minnesota 2012

MINNEAPOLIS—A brazen crime shook the quiet streets of St. Paul when a group of armed robbers targeted the West 7th Pharmacy in April 2012. Today, one of the key players behind the heist pleaded guilty to his role in the crime.

Michael Brooks Bynum, a 31-year-old Minneapolis man, entered a guilty plea in federal court in St. Paul to charges of interference with commerce by robbery pursuant to the Hobbs Act and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Bynum was indicted along with two co-defendants, Ray James Brown and Rayshawn Earl James Brown, on July 10, 2012.

According to the plea agreement, Bynum admitted to driving his co-defendants to the pharmacy with the intent to rob it on April 3, 2012. He also admitted to participating in the planning of the robbery and driving the group away after the crime was committed. Bynum further admitted to participating in the armed robberies of Lloyds Pharmacy in St. Paul on February 18, 2012, the Best Aid Pharmacy in St. Louis Park on March 15, 2012, and the Pro Pharmacy in St. Paul on March 27, 2012.

Ray Brown, 24, and Rayshawn Brown, 21, both of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty to their roles in the crime in September 2012. Ray Brown admitted to pointing a .40-caliber, semi-automatic pistol at store employees and demanding they get down on the floor. He also admitted to ordering the pharmacist to place pharmaceutical drugs, such as Percocet, Vicodin and Oxycontin into a white plastic bag. Rayshawn Brown admitted to participating in the Pro Pharmacy robbery.

Bynum and Rayshawn Brown face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the interference with commerce by robbery pursuant to the Hobbs Act count. All three defendants face a mandatory minimum of seven years and a maximum penalty of life in prison on the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence count. Ray Brown faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years on the second possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence count. Judge Susan Richard Nelson will determine their sentences at a future hearing.

The Hobbs Act, passed by Congress in 1946, provides federal jurisdiction for cases involving violent, habitual criminals who commit armed robbery in businesses involved in interstate commerce. Federal prosecution of these offenders is sometimes beneficial since the penalties may be tougher than under state law.

The case is the result of an investigation by the St. Paul Police Department, the St. Louis Park Police Department, the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Schleicher.

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