Ampride robber sent to state prison

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A Madelia man, accused of robbing a Hanska convenience store in April, pleaded guilty, was sentenced and began his jail term on Monday.

Jesse Lee Nundahl, 23, was charged on April 8 with felony aggravated robbery for taking what investigators said was $250 cash and $500 in personal checks at knifepoint from the Hanska Ampride convenience store on April 5.

He entered a plea of guilty to an amended count of aggravated robbery in the second degree Monday morning. The charge was amended in exchange for the guilty plea, according to documents filed in Brown County District Court.

Brown County District Court Judge John R. Rodenberg sentenced Nundahl to 48 months in state prison, with 81 days of credit for jail time he already served. Nundahl was fined $2,000, ordered to pay $933 in restitution and $40 in charges.

Nundahl appeared in court at 10:30 a.m. Monday. By that afternoon, the Brown County Sheriff's Department was taking him to the state's medium-security prison in St. Cloud.

Nundahl was arrested hours after the initial armed robbery call on State Highway 15 as he and a companion were heading south towards Watonwan County. Nundahl was reportedly found lying down on the passenger's seat by a Watonwan County deputy sheriff. He was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for a different, lesser charge.

The money from the convenience store was reportedly found inside the car after it was pulled over and searched. Brown County deputy sheriffs also found a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix in a remote part of the county later that afternoon. It was that car, said investigators, that was stolen at the Ampride station right after the robbery took place and used to flee the scene.

The car belonged to the daughter of Jeanne Willis, the Ampride manager who was behind the counter at the time Nundahl reportedly came in wearing a hooded sweatshirt, holding a bandanna over his face and brandishing a knife.

The Willises filed for $100 in restitution against Nundahl in order to pay for the damage done to the car. In addition, the Stark Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. in Sleepy Eye filed a $179 claim for a camera and a cellular phone that were determined missing from the car. The Hanska Ampride store filed for $254 to compensate for its missing cash and $400 for "business interruption," court documents said.