Man hired under fake identity who robbed Cle Nightclub sentenced to 40 years, US Attorney announces

HOUSTON, Texas -- A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of violently robbing a Houston nightclub in 2019, US Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced.

The video above is from ABC13's livestreaming channel.

A jury found 27-year-old Hakeem Alexander Coles guilty of interference with commerce by robbery and discharging a firearm on June 6, 2022.

Coles, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, used a false identity to get hired as a security guard for CLE Nightclub on Main Street.

Officials said that Coles worked there for two weeks before robbing employees at gunpoint and demanding $20,000 cash after the club closed for the night on Sept. 7, 2019.

At the time of Coles' arrest in Louisiana, he was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm and the false ID he used to be hired at the nightclub.

At the trial, jurors heard evidence of another similar robbery Coles committed in Minneapolis three weeks prior. In that case, Coles was hired as a security guard at a restaurant and robbed the employees during closed hours. He pleaded guilty in 2020 and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

US District Ewing Werlein Jr. handed Coles a 240-month term of imprisonment for the robbery. He also received another 240 months for the firearms charge, which must be served consecutively with the other sentence imposed.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a US Bureau Facility that will be determined in the near future.