'Roosevelt Road Robber' suspect charged

A man the FBI has pegged as the "Roosevelt Road Robber" suspect was charged Friday with trying to hold up two DuPage County banks the same day.

Nicholas J. Alexander, 38, of 141 Prairie Drive in Westmont, is charged with the armed robbery of the Fifth Third Bank, 1768 S. Blanchard St. in Wheaton, an FBI statement says.

Alexander also is accused of the attempted robbery of the Northern Trust Bank branch at 1 Oakbrook Terrace Drive in Oakbrook Terrace.

Alexander is being held in DuPage County jail on an unrelated Nov. 30 charge of residential burglary. His bail is set at $250,000.

Authorities say Alexander entered the Oakbrook Terrace bank about 4 p.m. Aug. 3. He implied he was armed and threatened the teller, who was unable to open her locked cash drawer. He leaned over the counter and tried to open the drawer himself before fleeing.

Less than an hour later, the FBI says, Alexander strode into the Wheaton bank, announced a robbery and demanded cash from a teller. He left with more than $3,600 and escaped with a vehicle parked in a nearby lot.

Alexander was linked to the two crimes through a fingerprint found on the locked drawer he tried to open at the Northern Trust bank. His name then came up in a fingerprint database of past criminals.

FBI officials began surveillance on Alexander and determined his car, a 1991 Acura Legend with tinted windows, matched the description of the vehicle used by the bank robber, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

The tellers at both banks also identified Alexander's photo in an array of possible suspects, according to the complaint.

FBI officials said they worked with police in Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Oakbrook Terrace, Westmont and Wheaton in apprehending Alexander.

The man had been dubbed the "Roosevelt Road Robber" because four attempted or completed robberies occurred on or near Roosevelt Road.

The robber typically would demand money, imply that he had a gun and threaten to shoot the teller, FBI officials said. But no weapons were displayed, and no one was injured in any of the heists.

The same robber was suspected in two other cases, but has not been charged.

• About 4:15 p.m. on July 20, a man fled on foot after taking an undisclosed amount of cash from LaSalle Bank, 600 Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn.

• Another Roosevelt Road-area robbery occurred about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 17 at the First Bank, 299 N. York Road in Elmhurst.