Man charged for January robbery of St. Paul bank sentenced to prison

Court records show the man who was arrested for robbing a St. Paul bank earlier this year will be serving time behind bars.

Federal court documents state Andre Christopher Nelson, who had been indicted with one count of armed bank robbery and another count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, will serve 50 months, or just over four years, in prison. In addition, he will serve three years of supervised release.

As part of a plea, the sentencing called for the dismissal of the firearm charge.

According to state court documents, prosecutors in Ramsey County filed to dismiss their case against Nelson on Dec. 8, 2023, due to the fact he has already been sentenced at the federal level. Nelson had been scheduled to have a trial start on Dec. 13.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, he had been charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and three counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

Court documents state St. Paul police were called to Huntington Bank on Suburban Avenue at around 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 17. There, two tellers reported Nelson came into the bank while wearing a mask with a skull on it and holding a grocery store bag and a handgun.

The tellers told officers that Nelson went around to three tellers, pointed the gun at them and had them put the money from their drawers into his bag. He then told them, “Have a nice day. Stay warm,” the complaint states, and left. However, some of the money he stole had a tracker, which showed police where he was.