A St. Paul man who authorities say committed four armed robberies at east-metro businesses in 2023 was sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison on a gun crime and for violating probation in an earlier bank robbery conviction.
Michael Dashon Wise, 51, committed the robberies while on conditional release from jail in connection with a 2021 bank robbery, according to charges filed in Ramsey County District Court in 2023. He was also on federal supervised probation for a 2015 bank robbery.
Federal prosecutors took over the 2023 case last year, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Ramsey County then dismissed its case.
Wise pleaded guilty to the federal gun charge in September and was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to 2½ years in prison. He was given a concurrent one-year term for violating federal probation for robbing a U.S. Bank in St. Anthony in August 2015.
His sentence includes three years of supervised probation following incarceration.
Court documents show Wise was charged in August 2022 in connection with robbing a U.S. Bank on Larpenteur Avenue in Roseville on March 8, 2021.
Wise was released from the Ramsey County jail on Aug. 24, 2022, after posting a $500 bond, ahead of future court hearings in the case.
Nearly a year later, Wise went on an armed robbery spree that included hitting up the same convenience store twice over the course of 2½ months, authorities say.
Concealed identity
According to the November 2023 Ramsey County District Court complaint:
Wise, wearing a green camouflage hooded sweatshirt, black sunglasses, black pants and a black mask with marijuana leaves on it, robbed the Super USA convenience store at 2424 Larpenteur Ave. in Lauderdale of an unspecified amount of cash just before 3 p.m. Aug. 6, 2023.
About an hour later, Wise, donning the same disguise, robbed Setzer Pharmacy at 1685 Rice St. in Roseville in the same way, placing a gun on the counter and demanding money. He left with no less than $200.
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Meanwhile, Wise reached a plea deal with Ramsey County prosecutors on Sept. 13, 2023, in connection with the 2021 bank robbery.
In exchange for pleading guilty to an added count of gross misdemeanor theft, the felony robbery charge would be dismissed at sentencing, which was set for Nov. 15, 2023. The deal called for no prison time, but unsupervised county probation and continuation of federal probation through June 2025.
However, just over a month after the plea deal, Wise was back to his criminal ways, the charges say.
Just before 1 p.m. Oct. 20, officers were sent to Village Bank at 9298 Central Ave. in Blaine on a robbery report.
Wise, wearing a red wig, white gloves, a white facemask and long blue jacket with white polka dots, entered the bank, grabbed a deposit slip and scribbled on it. He gave a teller the note, which demanded money. He fled with $2,200 cash and got into a black Buick, according to an Anoka County complaint.
About nine hours later, St. Anthony police officers were sent to the Super USA in Lauderdale that was robbed Aug. 6.
Michael Dashon Wise (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Wise, wearing the same getup, asked a clerk for a pack of Newport cigarettes. He then pulled out a gun, set it on the counter and told the clerk to empty the drawer. He took the money, approximately $300, and fled, according to charges.
Law enforcement searched Wise’s St. Paul home on Nov. 7, 2023, and found a Taurus G3 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, according to federal court records. He was arrested two days later.
Wise appeared in Ramsey County District Court two weeks later on the 2021 theft conviction and was sentenced to 360 days in the county jail.
‘Horrendous criminal record’
In November 2016, Wise was indicted in federal court on two counts of armed robbery in connection with robbing the U.S. Bank on Silver Lake Road in St. Anthony of $3,690 in August 2015 and the Wells Fargo Bank on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis of $5,640 less than a month later.
He pleaded guilty to the St. Anthony robbery and in May 2016 was sentenced to five years and four months in prison and five years of supervised release. He was released from prison on June 10, 2020.
Ahead of last week’s sentencing, Wise’s public defender, Robert Meyers, asked in a court filing that Wise receive a 2½-year prison sentence, followed by a year of supervised release. He said the conviction “is the non-violent possession of a gun.”
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Moreover, Wise suffers from a rare, progressive genetic disorder called Fabry disease, Meyers said, noting that a study found that the life expectancy for males diagnosed is just over 58 years. “Imprisonment will be more than the normal hardship,” Meyers added.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Gilead asked that Wise receive a prison sentence of just over four years.
“It is clear from Wise’s horrendous criminal record, his repeated criminal conduct, including behavior on supervision and while incarcerated, that a significant sentence is warranted to protect the public from Wise’s recidivism,” Gilead said. “Sadly, it appears that imprisonment has largely been the only time Wise has stopped committing crimes.”
Judge Ann Montgomery’s sentence includes a recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons that Wise be incarcerated in Rochester to allow for treatment of his medical issues and to be close to his family.
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