A 28-year-old man faces federal and state charges after authorities say he robbed a credit union in Bend, then went on a shopping spree that included buying a Christmas tree he later used to try and hide from police.

Brett Gillispie-Comstock went into a Selco Community Credit Union twice on Dec. 16 before he walked to a teller, told her he was ready to open an account and handed her a note demanding $5,000, according to a criminal complaint written by an FBI special agent.

He fled with $1,373 in an envelope, telling the credit union employee, "I hope you have really good holidays," before he left, the complaint said. Other employees watched him cross the street and eventually go out of sight.

Bend police officers who had seen credit union surveillance footage found Gillispie-Comstock nearby about 40 minutes after the robbery and arrested him.

Gillespie-Comstock told investigators that he and his mother had lost $400 gambling and that they needed money for rent, Christmas presents and a Christmas tree, the complaint said. He claimed he originally planned to rob the bank earlier in the day, but changed his mind and left.

According to the complaint, the accused robber told police that he took the stolen funds to a nearby NAPA auto parts store, where he bought a can of spray paint. He went to a marijuana dispensary and bought a beanie hat and a hoodie. He also went to a pet store and bought doggie treats, bought food at a Jimmy John's restaurant and then bought a Christmas tree.

He had been trying to use the tree to hide his face when police stopped him, the complaint said.

Gillispie-Comstock handed police more than $700 that he hid in one of his boots and led them to another nearly $475 he had hidden behind the NAPA store.

Gillespie was booked into the Deschutes County Jail on suspicion of federal bank robbery. He is also accused in Deschutes County of first-degree theft and third-degree robbery, court records show.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey