Newlyweds charged in yearlong crime spree
The honeymoon is over for a recently married McHenry County couple who police say committed six robberies in six towns in the last year.
Police say Mark C. Kozik, 32, and his wife, Heidi L. Kozik, 30, are each being held on $1 million bond in the Lake County jail in Waukegan for their involvement in a string of armed robberies in Antioch, Fox Lake, Lakemoor, McHenry, Crystal Lake and Spring Grove.
Mark Kozik, who police say has convictions for burglaries, drug charges and theft, is charged with armed robbery, financial institution robbery and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, Fox Lake Lt. Jeff Norris said. Heidi Kozik faces charges of armed robbery and financial institution robbery, he said. She has no prior criminal background.
The duo had been married for about a week when police say they held up a Fox Lake National City Bank on Aug. 7 -- the incident that eventually would lead to their arrest for six separate robberies.
In the Fox Lake case, the newlyweds had a system, police said: He went in wielding a semiautomatic handgun while she waited outside in her 2005 Pontiac, serving as the duo's getaway driver.
The two were arrested for that robbery Wednesday, after more than a month of investigation, Norris said. He said he could not divulge specific details about the evidence that led police to the couple.
In the days that followed, he said, Heidi Kozik cooperated with police, offering enough details to connect the pair to five other crimes over the last year: bank robberies in Spring Grove and Lakemoor and robberies of Check 'n Go businesses in Antioch, McHenry and Crystal Lake.
Police from Antioch, Fox Lake, Spring Grove, McHenry and the Lake County sheriff helped in the investigation.
The couple, from unincorporated Spring Grove, faced Lake County Judge Theodore S. Potkonjak in bond court on Friday. The FBI also is investigating -- routine when banks are robbed -- and the pair could face additional state and federal charges.
The couple is due back in court Oct. 22 in Lake County.