MINNEAPOLIS – A Cottage Grove man was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in November 2021, Michael Thomas Prall, 43, used force, violence, and intimidation to steal thousands of dollars from three separate banks. On November 30, 2021, Prall entered a Wells Fargo bank in Cottage Grove, and presented a note to the teller directing the teller to give him the money in her cash drawer. Prall threatened that if the teller did not quickly do as he asked, he would shoot her or someone else in the bank. The teller complied with the Prall’s demand, and the defendant fled on foot. Law enforcement located and arrested Prall following a short foot chase.
According to court documents, Prall was also responsible for a bank robbery on November 5, 2021, at a U.S. Bank in Bloomington, where he stole $2,558 and a November 19, 2021, robbery at a Bremer Bank in Woodbury, where he stole approximately $4,589.
Prall was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. Prall pleaded guilty to one count bank robbery on March 22, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Cottage Grove Police Department, the Woodbury Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine prosecuted the case.