Stay-at-home dad Nathan Anderson pulled up to the McDonald's drive-thru in Bloomington late one weekend night, and he said service was so slow that he fell asleep while waiting.

He never got to say whether he wanted fries with that.

Police were called, and officers gave him a rude awakening, patting him down and finding a loaded pistol in his coat.

Now the 31-year-old father of three is facing years in prison, having pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in St. Paul to being a repeat felon in possession of a stolen firearm.

According to court documents:

Anderson fell asleep in his vehicle at the McDonald's on West 98th Street, just east of Lyndale Avenue, about 10 p.m. on March 2.

He told police "that he fell asleep because he was waiting so long," a defense document filed in the case read.

Along with being sleepy, Anderson appeared nervous. Officers searched him and turn up a loaded .45-caliber handgun. Police took him to jail, and he was later charged.

Anderson's criminal history includes convictions from 2001 to 2005 in Hennepin County for theft, terroristic threats, burglary and assault.

Those convictions leave him open to a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482