Feds: Bank Robber Nabbed After Dropping Paperwork With His Name On It
(STMW) -- Authorities tracked down a man who robbed a south suburban bank earlier this month after he dropped his cell phone and paperwork containing his name and home address as he ran away from a security guard who fired a gun at him, according to federal prosecutors.
Kenneth R. Holeman was on parole for a 2009 bank robbery conviction when he walked into the First National Bank branch at 3960 W. 95th St. in Evergreen Park about noon on Dec. 11 and demanded "all the f—–g money," according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The 53-year-old took off with $1,820 but left behind several sheets of paper at the counter that he had used to cover his face when he walked in, including a forfeiture notice from the Cook County state's attorney's office that was addressed to him, federal prosecutors said.
An armed security guard chased him outside and fired a shot into the air, startling Holeman into dropping his cell phone as he crossed Pulaski Road to get into his Pontiac Grand Prix, prosecutors said. The guard shot the back tires of the car as it sped away northbound on Pulaski.
Investigators used the phone and paperwork to track down his family, who said they had recognized him in surveillance photos shared in news reports after the robbery, prosecutors said.
He was arrested Dec. 14 in West Englewood near 69th Street and Marshfield.
According to the FBI, the same person who robbed the Evergreen Park bank was suspected in three other Chicago bank robberies this year, including Oct. 23 at the Chase Bank branch at 11721 S. Halsted St.; Sept. 29 at the Chase at 8340 S. Kedzie Ave.; and Sept. 14 at the Byline Bank branch at 4050 S. Archer Ave. He also tried to rob a Bank of America branch at 5601 S. Kedzie Ave. on Oct. 21, but didn't make off with any cash, authorities said.
No charges have been filed in those robberies.
Holeman was convicted of robbing an Oak Brook bank in September 2009, court records show. He was charged with another heist in May 2004, but additional details on that case weren't immediately available.
He remains held at the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center and has a status hearing scheduled for Jan. 13, records show.
At least 140 banks have been robbed in the Chicago area this year, according to the FBI.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
