South Elgin woman charged in bank heist, may be involved in second

A 41-year-old woman arrested last week for the Dec. 23 robbery of a South Elgin bank may also be responsible for an earlier holdup at another South Elgin facility, authorities said Monday.

Denise Hampton-Houser, of the 200 block of S. Collins Street in South Elgin, is accused of robbing about $1,224 from the Amcore Bank, 536 Randall Road, according to the FBI.

Authorities say she entered the bank about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 23 and handed a teller a threatening note demanding money before receiving the cash and fleeing.

Police are trying to determine whether Hampton-Houser also held up the State bank of Illinois, 1140 W. Spring Street, on Dec. 3. In that incident a woman approached a teller, handed over a demand note implying she had a weapon and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

South Elgin police Detective Mike Doty said a tip from a citizen led investigators to Hampton-Houser.

"A search warrant was executed at her home Friday and items found during the search were relevant to both bank robberies," Doty said.

Police said Hampton-Hauser gave a statement after her arrest, but declined to disclose what she said or what evidence they have linking her to the holdups.

She currently faces one count of bank robbery, a felony offense that carries a maximum sentence 20 years behind bars, officials said.

Hampton-Houser is being held in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. She is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday before a federal magistrate judge.