Bank Held Up With A Phony Bomb - tribunedigital-chicagotribune
August 24, 1993|By Flynn McRoberts, Tribune Staff Writer.
Remember the dubious list of bank robbers who've struck Chicago's suburbs in the last couple of years? There was the Flesh-masked Bandit. The Bearded Bandit. Even the 15-second Bandit.
Now you can add the Bomber Bandit.
On Monday, the newest member of this nefarious fraternity held up the Suburban Bank of Hoffman-Schaumburg in Hoffman Estates, authorities said.
Armed with a cool disposition and what turned out to be a fake bomb, he made off with what one bank employee estimated to be less than $10,000.
He left behind a simple black box with a flashing red light-and a teller so shaken that she had to be taken to a hospital.
The bomb spin on the old bank heist is a relatively rare one, but one that is gaining popularity among robbers, authorities said.
"This is a (method) that's popped up recently," said Hoffman Estates Sgt. Bill Boaz.
"Typically you have a mope who will come in with a note . . . and state, `I'm armed with a gun or bomb, and I want your money,' " said FBI spokesman Bob Long. "Not very often does someone leave something behind."
The Bomber Bandit has yet to match the exploits of other area bank robbers. For instance, the Flesh-masked Bandit and his accomplice pulled off 35 heists in seven states.
Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged John T. Hunter, 55, of Rolling Meadows, and his 27-year-old son, in two of those cases: the robbery of an Arlington Heights bank in 1991 and a holdup at a Wheeling bank in 1992. Investigators also believe the two, often wearing opaque masks, may have been responsible for a robbery spree dating back to 1985 and spanning the Midwest.
The 15-second Bandit earned that nickname because he reportedly tells bank employees they have 15 seconds to comply with his demands. The clock-watching bandit, who pulled off several heists in the northwest suburbs earlier this year, then counts backward from 15.
And, of course, the man accused of being the Bearded Bandit died in a shootout in July 1992 with federal marshals. Jeffrey Erickson shot himself in the head after being wounded by a federal court security officer.
Monday's bank robber of note struck about 11:45 a.m. Wearing a striped dress shirt, dark blue jeans and goldish-tinted sunglasses, he entered the bank with a briefcase, and pretended to be completing paperwork at a customer service island, Long said.
He then approached a teller, put the briefcase on the counter, opened it and handed her a note demanding money, Long said.
The note "told her not to panic or do anything foolish," said Assistant Police Chief Bob Boynton. It also said the "bomb" could be detonated by remote control.
The robber then took a black box, slightly smaller than a shoebox and with a blinking red light, out of the briefcase and placed it on the counter in front of the teller.
He handed her a dark-blue nylon bag and she put the money into it, authorities said. Then he left.
"This guy was either lucky or he was really good," said teller Dave Schmitt, 22, of Bartlett. Schmitt, who was working two windows away from the victimized teller, said the robbery took less than a minute-just enough time for him to go to the back of the bank and start rolling a box of quarters.
"Everyone was busy with customers, so no one could get a good look at him," Schmitt said.
Two bank employees did, though. They gave investigators matching descriptions of the robber: a dark-complexioned white male, 40 to 45 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a skinny build and balding straight brown hair.
Boynton said the heist at the bank, 1100 N. Roselle Rd., was the first one in Hoffman Estates in the 25 years he has been in the village.
The victimized teller fainted and was taken to Hoffman Estates Medical Center, where she was treated and released, said hospital spokesman Jim Bozikis.
Co-workers said the teller worried about how she would react if the bank were robbed.
On Monday, though, she did exactly what bank employees normally are told to do in such situations: She handed over the money and didn't try to confront the man.
"She gets asthma attacks when she gets excited," said Sue Sharp, 24, a new accounts representative at the bank. "That's the only reason we knew" something had happened, she said.
While the whole experience affected the teller the most, she wasn't the only one shaken.
As two members of the Cook County sheriff's bomb squad, dressed in protective garb, worked to determine whether the device was fake, bank employees and customers sat or stood in a nearby parking lot with dazed looks on their faces.
The technicians determined that the device was nothing but a metal box with a light powered by four batteries.
Or, as Boaz said, "It looks like a prehistoric pager."
The scare was enough to start Schmitt smoking again, only a month after he thought he'd kicked the habit.
"After this happened, I needed something. And my fingernails are all bitten off, so I went over to the (gas) station and bought a pack of cigarettes."
Bank Held Up With A Phony Bomb - tribunedigital-chicagotribune
August 24, 1993|By Flynn McRoberts, Tribune Staff Writer.
Remember the dubious list of bank robbers who've struck Chicago's suburbs in the last couple of years? There was the Flesh-masked Bandit. The Bearded Bandit. Even the 15-second Bandit.
Now you can add the Bomber Bandit.
On Monday, the newest member of this nefarious fraternity held up the Suburban Bank of Hoffman-Schaumburg in Hoffman Estates, authorities said.
Armed with a cool disposition and what turned out to be a fake bomb, he made off with what one bank employee estimated to be less than $10,000.
He left behind a simple black box with a flashing red light-and a teller so shaken that she had to be taken to a hospital.
The bomb spin on the old bank heist is a relatively rare one, but one that is gaining popularity among robbers, authorities said.
"This is a (method) that's popped up recently," said Hoffman Estates Sgt. Bill Boaz.
"Typically you have a mope who will come in with a note . . . and state, `I'm armed with a gun or bomb, and I want your money,' " said FBI spokesman Bob Long. "Not very often does someone leave something behind."
The Bomber Bandit has yet to match the exploits of other area bank robbers. For instance, the Flesh-masked Bandit and his accomplice pulled off 35 heists in seven states.
Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged John T. Hunter, 55, of Rolling Meadows, and his 27-year-old son, in two of those cases: the robbery of an Arlington Heights bank in 1991 and a holdup at a Wheeling bank in 1992. Investigators also believe the two, often wearing opaque masks, may have been responsible for a robbery spree dating back to 1985 and spanning the Midwest.
The 15-second Bandit earned that nickname because he reportedly tells bank employees they have 15 seconds to comply with his demands. The clock-watching bandit, who pulled off several heists in the northwest suburbs earlier this year, then counts backward from 15.
And, of course, the man accused of being the Bearded Bandit died in a shootout in July 1992 with federal marshals. Jeffrey Erickson shot himself in the head after being wounded by a federal court security officer.
Monday's bank robber of note struck about 11:45 a.m. Wearing a striped dress shirt, dark blue jeans and goldish-tinted sunglasses, he entered the bank with a briefcase, and pretended to be completing paperwork at a customer service island, Long said.
He then approached a teller, put the briefcase on the counter, opened it and han
ded her a note demanding money, Long said.
The note "told her not to panic or do anything foolish," said Assistant Police Chief Bob Boynton. It also said the "bomb" could be detonated by remote control.
The robber then took a black box, slightly smaller than a shoebox and with a blinking red light, out of the briefcase and placed it on the counter in front of the teller.
He handed her a dark-blue nylon bag and she put the money into it, authorities said. Then he left.
"This guy was either lucky or he was really good," said teller Dave Schmitt, 22, of Bartlett. Schmitt, who was working two windows away from the victimized teller, said the robbery took less than a minute-just enough time for him to go to the back of the bank and start rolling a box of quarters.
"Everyone was busy with customers, so no one could get a good look at him," Schmitt said.
Two bank employees did, though. They gave investigators matching descriptions of the robber: a dark-complexioned white male, 40 to 45 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a skinny build and balding straight brown hair.
Boynton said the heist at the bank, 1100 N. Roselle Rd., was the first one in Hoffman Estates in the 25 years he has been in the village.
The victimized teller fainted and was taken to Hoffman Estates Medical Center, where she was treated and released, said hospital spokesman Jim Bozikis.
Co-workers said the teller worried about how she would react if the bank were robbed.
On Monday, though, she did exactly what bank employees normally are told to do in such situations: She handed over the money and didn't try to confront the man.
"She gets asthma attacks when she gets excited," said Sue Sharp, 24, a new accounts representative at the bank. "That's the only reason we knew" something had happened, she said.
While the whole experience affected the teller the most, she wasn't the only one shaken.
As two members of the Cook County sheriff's bomb squad, dressed in protective garb, worked to determine whether the device was fake, bank employees and customers sat or stood in a nearby parking lot with dazed looks on their faces.
The technicians determined that the device was nothing but a metal box with a light powered by four batteries.
Or, as Boaz said, "It looks like a prehistoric pager."
The scare was enough to start Schmitt smoking again, only a month after he thought he'd kicked the habit.
"After this happened, I needed something. And my fingernails are all bitten off, so I went over to the (gas) station and bought a pack of cigarettes."