Crime & Safety

Man Gets 57 Months In Cottage Grove Bank Robbery

Michael T. Prall, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court to a bank robbery charge on March 22.

(David Allen/Patch)

COTTAGE GROVE, MN — A Cottage Grove man was sentenced to 57 months, or nearly five years, following his conviction in a bank robbery.

Michael T. Prall, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court to the charge on March 22.

On Nov. 30, 2021, Prall entered a Wells Fargo bank in Cottage Grove and gave a note to the teller that ordered her to give him the money in her cash drawer, authorities said.

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Prall threatened that if the teller did not quickly do as he asked, he would shoot her or someone else in the bank, according to investigators.

The teller complied, and Prall fled on foot, authorities said. Police were able to arrest him after a short foot chase, according to investigators.

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Earlier that month, Prall had stolen a combined $7,000 from a U.S. Bank in Bloomington and a Bremer Bank in Woodbury, authorities said.

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