Statute of limitations means it's now or never for Wheaton Bandit
By the end of the day Wednesday, authorities must identify and charge one of the Chicago area's most prolific bank robbers — the Wheaton Bandit — or else he could get away.
The FBI is working against the clock because the statute of limitations for bank robbery is five years, and the bandit's last known holdup was Dec. 7, 2006, at the Glen Ellyn Bank and Trust.
Ross Rice, spokesman for the FBI's Chicago office, said Monday authorities were still offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the elusive gunman, suspected in as many as 16 suburban bank robberies since January 2002.
“To have a serial robber of this magnitude commit this many crimes and not be apprehended is unusual,” Rice said. “There's at least one person out there who knows who committed these crimes.”
Authorities began calling him the Wheaton Bandit because seven of his first eight heists were in Wheaton. He then branched out to Carol Stream, Geneva, Naperville, Winfield and Glen Ellyn, where he struck four times between 2004 and 2006. Officials say he pocketed about $150,000 altogether.
Witnesses have described him as a white man 25 to 35 years old and at least 5 feet 10 inches with a medium build. Typically, only his blue eyes were visible through a dark ski mask as he entered banks alone and ordered everyone but a lone teller to the floor, authorities said. He usually was gone in 60 seconds. No injuries were reported at any of the robberies.
The bandit sported different clothing in each heist, but he always used a hood or ski mask to conceal his identity, authorities said. He's possibly left handed and is thought to have law enforcement or military training because of the way he handled his semiautomatic handgun, according to the FBI.
The most promising leads in the investigation came from a witness believed to have caught a glimpse of the bandit's face moments before a Fifth Third Bank branch in Winfield was robbed in 2006, and surveillance video of a man who may have been staking out a Mid America Bank branch in Glen Ellyn two weeks before it was robbed in 2004. Recent media attention to the case also has spurred public interest, Rice said.
“The public has responded admirably,” he said. “We've received a number of tips. Unfortunately, none of them panned out.”
Even if authorities close the case before Thursday, the bandit would be immune from charges in 15 earlier robberies because the statute of limitations has expired on those cases. But he still could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of his last robbery alone, Rice said.
The FBI solves 60 to 70 percent of bank robberies in the metropolitan Chicago area, Rice said, and the public often is instrumental in bringing charges.
“If you know that person, you're going to recognize them, and that's what we're hoping for,” he said. “Most of the cases we solve are directly or indirectly the result of public cooperation. They might recognize an article of clothing, the physical build, the mannerism.”
Anyone with information on the Wheaton Bandit is asked to call the FBI at (312) 421-6700. Additional information on the case, including surveillance photos, is available at bandittrackerchicago.com.