Taxi driver helps FBI nab suspect who robbed banks in Des Plaines, Schaumburg
An alert taxi driver - and a bit of luck - helped the FBI nab a suspect accused of robbing two Northwest suburban banks this week.
Jeremy C. Wood, 36, of the 3200 block of N. Cicero Avenue in Chicago, was charged Thursday with two counts of bank robbery after a pair of holdups at banks inside Jewel-Osco stores in Des Plaines and Schaumburg.
According to the FBI, Wood hailed a taxi Tuesday morning from a hotel in Schiller Park and asked the driver to take him to the Jewel-Osco in Des Plaines, 1500 Lee St. On the way, Wood asked the driver for a blank sheet of paper and a pen.
When they arrived about 11:10 a.m., Wood asked the driver to wait outside the grocery store while he met a friend inside, according to the criminal complaint. Inside, Wood is accused of sliding the TCF Bank teller the piece of paper - later obtained by investigators - with the words "This is a robbery. Got a gun. Give me all your 100s, 50s, and 20s in your drawer. You have 7 seconds!! I'm counting."
The bank teller told investigators Wood then stated he had a gun and started counting, at which point the teller handed over $840 in cash, according to the complaint. Wood is accused of then leaving the grocery store with the unsuspecting cabdriver, who dropped him off at the CTA Blue Line station in Rosemont, according to the criminal complaint.
After the Des Plaines robbery, police and FBI agents tracked the taxi trip back to a hotel and learned Wood was one of two people who checked out of a room Tuesday morning, according to the complaint. Authorities went to his past residences but couldn't find Wood.
On Wednesday, Wood hailed a taxi at a River Grove hotel. The driver dispatched to the hotel happened to be the same one who drove Wood to Des Plaines, according to the criminal complaint. The driver recognized Wood as the man suspected of robbing the bank a day earlier but pretended not to know him, according to the complaint.
The driver told investigators Wood asked for a ride to a motel in Melrose Park because he needed to pick up a "money bag," according to the complaint. While Wood was inside the motel, the driver called dispatch and left the line open so employees could hear conversations inside the taxicab, according to the complaint.
When Wood returned to the cab, he asked for a ride to the Jewel-Osco in Schaumburg, 2507 W. Schaumburg Road, and again asked for a piece of paper and a pen, authorities said. In the meantime, the cab company notified Schaumburg police officers a robbery was about to occur at the grocery store, authorities said.
The driver dropped off Wood in front of the grocery store and watched him go inside about 1:05 p.m., authorities said.
Wood is accused of again giving a TCF Bank teller a note that read "I have a gun!! Give me all your money in your drawer," according to the complaint. The bank teller handed over $626 in cash, authorities said.
Meanwhile, Schaumburg police officers had arrived at the scene and they arrested Wood as he walked out of the grocery store, authorities said. Authorities reported finding about $626 in cash but no gun.
Des Plaines police Cmdr. Christopher Mierzwa said it's unusual for robbers to take taxicabs to the bank, but "that's not at the top of the list of weirdest things I've seen."
Wood has a history of bank robberies. He pleaded guilty to three counts of bank robbery in 2008. A week ago, a federal judge revoked Wood's probation for failure to appear in court and issued a warrant for his arrest.