2 brothers arrested in Long Grove bank heist

Two Waukegan brothers have been arrested on charges of robbing a Long Grove bank in October and trying to stick up a Gurnee credit union last month, federal and local law enforcement officials announced Friday.

Rashe Watkins, 33, and Julius Watkins, 29, were picked up outside a community center in Waukegan, said FBI spokesman Ross Rice, who attributed their capture to "good investigative work."

Authorities said Rashe Watkins purchased the gun and laser attachment used in the Jan. 29 attempted robbery of the Community Trust Credit Union on Route 41 in Gurnee from a Waukegan gun store.

When he made that purchase, he listed a phone number that also made calls traced to a cell tower near National City Bank on Route 22 in Long Grove when it was being robbed in October. That robbery occurred as the bank was opening, and thieves got away with $14,386, according to arrest documents.

The brothers attempted to rob the credit union as it was closing, but were unable to get into the locked vault, according to a criminal complaint.

One of the Watkins brothers shot at a police officer as he was leaving the credit union, the complaint states. The officer was not injured.

"We are grateful that these suspects were identified and arrested without incident and before anyone was seriously injured," Gurnee Police Chief Robert Jones said in a statement. "The interagency cooperation shown during this investigation was tremendous and brought about the quick resolution to these robbery investigations."

Both men are scheduled to appear in court and be formally charged Monday, Feb. 8, before Magistrate Judge Michael Mason at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago.