Glens Falls Man Sentenced to 60 Months for Bank Robbery

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Nelson L. Gouge, age 47, of Glens Falls, New York, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for bank robbery.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Warren County Sheriff Jim LaFarr.

Gouge pled guilty on October 7, 2019 as his trial was set to begin.  As part of his plea, Gouge admitted that on January 12, 2018, at approximately 1 p.m., he walked into the Trustco Bank branch on Route 9L in Lake George, New York, after attempting to conceal his face by use of a neck warmer.  Gouge went to a line where a bank employee was standing, put a hard, black case on the counter and handed the employee a note that read, “I Have a weapon this is a robbery Just put all the money in the bag think about you and your employees + friends.”  The bank employee did not have a drawer of money at her station, so she went to another station and took money out of the drawer.  The employee turned back to her station where Gouge was holding a bag.  The employee put money in the bag and Gouge left with $4,301.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Department quickly identified Gouge as a suspect and arrested him that night in South Glens Falls, New York.

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced Gouge to serve a 3-year term of supervised release, to begin after his term of imprisonment, and ordered Gouge to pay $2,587 in restitution, representing the amount of money not recovered by police.

This case was investigated by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Police, Warren County District Attorney’s Office, and the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.