Separate Bandits Targeting Supermarket Bank Branches
(CBS) – TCF bank branches in Chicago are being targeted by separate bandits.
CBS 2's Mike Parker reports on why that may be.
The FBI calls her the "Shady Bandit," because of her dark glasses. She's been robbing TCF bank grocery store branches on Chicago's North Side for a year now.
Another robber is a man the feds call the "Benchwarmer Bandit." He's been hitting the same kind of targets for the past two weeks or so.
Between them they have eight separate robberies.
The two always go after the cash in those bank branches just down the aisle from the dog food or toilet paper. Former FBI veteran agent and CBS 2 security consultant Ross Rice thinks he knows why.
"It's easier to disappear into the crowd, it's easier to make your way in the parking lot without being detected and to escape from the area," he says.
Although they seem to work independently, their paths crossed at a Jewel Osco TCF branch at 4355 North Sheridan.
The female bandit struck there twice, the other robber just a week ago.
The manager of the next door fitness center is a bit nervous.
TCF Bank is offering a $10,000 reward for the "Shady Bandit," and a $5,000 reward for the other bank robber.
A TCF official says "we're cooperating with the FBI, and we're confident they'll be apprehended."
There's good reason for the bank's optimism. In the Chicago area in recent years, better than seven out of 10 bank robbers are caught.
