Bank robbery suspect from Palatine appears in federal court

A Palatine man accused of robbing several Chicago banks had his first appearance in federal court Wednesday and was ordered by the judge to be detained until his next hearing.

Matthew Silberman, 27, is accused of robbing at least four Chicago banks on Dec. 13, 14 and 15, taking a total of approximately $3,513, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

According to the complaint, Silberman approached tellers and demanded money at a Fifth Third Bank, a U.S. Bank and two Chase Banks in downtown Chicago and on the city's West side. Each time, Silberman told the tellers he had a gun or a bomb and threatened to hurt bystanders if they didn't comply with his demands, authorities said.

Silberman was reported missing on Dec. 13 by his mother and was found by Chicago Police Department officers unresponsive on the floor of a CVS Pharmacy in Chicago, apparently under the influence of alcohol or drugs on Dec. 14, according to the complaint.

Silberman was identified by a family friend and an acquaintance using body camera footage from the Dec. 14 incident, and later by the tellers at the banks he robbed, according to the complaint.