Suspect in Elgin bank robbery charged in Subway robberies
At least two restaurant robbery cases might have been solved with the arrest of a St. Charles man suspected of robbing an Elgin bank Wednesday.
North Aurora and Batavia police said Thursday Douglas A. Kelley, 27, has been charged in connection with the Nov. 23 and 28 robberies at Subway restaurants along Randall Road.
Kelley’s bail in the Subway cases has been set at $300,000, according to North Aurora police. He was being held at the Kane County jail.
Kelley, of the 6N500 block of Illinois Street, was arrested Wednesday night by Elgin police investigating the robbery of the Elgin State Bank branch on McLean Boulevard. He has not been charged in that case.
Batavia Police Detective Kevin Bretz said Elgin police notified the department Wednesday night that Kelley was making statements that led police to believe he might be involved in the Subway robberies. Batavia and North Aurora police then traveled to Elgin to interview Kelley. Kelley admitted to the Batavia robbery, Bretz said.
Meanwhile, Wednesday night, Batavia was helping apprehend another of the Elgin bank robbery suspects. Police arrested the suspect in the 1100 block of Lorlyn Circle. The man’s name has not been released.
The FBI is now in charge of the Elgin State Bank robbery investigation. Spokesman Ross Rice would not release the names of the two people suspected because charges have not been filed in court. He also would not say how much money may have been stolen, or what kind of weapon was used. Rice said charges might be filed late Thursday or early Friday. It was initially reported three people were involved.
“We did have three people in custody and the FBI moved forward with charges on two of them,” said Sue Olafson, the Elgin police spokesman.
Elgin police said they are looking into whether Kelley was involved in the Dec. 2 robbery of a Subway restaurant in Elgin. In addition, Streamwood police said Thursday officers have questioned Kelley regarding a Subway robbery Dec. 6. And Geneva police interviewed Kelley Thursday to see if he was connected to the robbery of a Game Stop store Dec. 8 on Randall Road.
“We’re investigating (Kelley’s) connection to the robberies in the Fox Valley area, including those in Elgin,” Olafson said.
The manhunt that started Wednesday and ended Thursday morning, involved law enforcement aviation aid from AIR-ONE Emergency Response Coalition. The helicopter used heat-seeking infrared cameras, night vision goggles and powerful search lights to look for the suspect who initially fled to a wooded area near Big Timber Road and McLean Boulevard in Elgin, according to a news release. That suspect was later found in Batavia.