A St. Paul man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for robbing a bank in the city’s Battle Creek neighborhood.

Andre Christopher Nelson on Jan. 17 pointed a handgun at three Huntington Bank tellers, demanded cash and ran off with nearly $28,000 they gave him, the charges said. Before he left, he said, “Have a nice day. Stay warm.”

Andre Christopher Nelson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

The cash included a tracker, however, and police soon found and arrested the 43-year-old between apartment buildings in the 2000 block of Wilson Avenue, just north of Interstate 94.

Nelson was carrying an Aldi bag, which contained the cash, tracker, an unloaded Ruger handgun and a mask, gloves, sunglasses and sweater that matched what the robber wore, charges said.

Nelson pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of a bank robbery and was sentenced last month.

In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors dismissed a charge of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a lengthier prison sentence.

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