A Matteson man was ordered held without bond Thursday after his arrest in connection with a series of robberies the FBI has attributed to the "daybreak bandit," so named because he accosted bank employees in the morning as they entered banks.

Jermaine Smith, 25, of Matteson was charged with one count of bank robbery, accused of a Wednesday robbery of Harris Bank, 207 N. Midland in Joliet.

Smith was arrested at his home Wednesday evening after authorities reviewed surveillance video tapes from a Jewel near the bank to read the license plates of two vehicles believed used in the robbery, according to an affidavit filed in the case. When they arrived at the home, Smith denied having anything to do with the robbery and then requested an attorney, so officers left the home, the affidavit said.

But when smoke alarms of the residence went off, officers and agents entered, believing evidence was being burned, court documents said. Inside, they found burned money in a fireplace, wrapped in bands with stamped numbers linking the cash to the Joliet bank, authorities said. Meanwhile, Smith had escaped through a window, but was caught two blocks away, authorities said.

A second man was arrested in connection with the case, FBI officials said, but his name has not yet been released. The FBI suspects the second person acted as a getaway driver.

Smith's attorney, federal defender Laurence Bolon asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox to release Smith on bond, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew F. Madden persuaded Cox to hold him without bond until an April 17 bond hearing.

Smith, dressed in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt, acknowledged family members who came to his hearing. The family declined to speak with reporters.