Tinley Park Bank Robber Hit Mokena Bank First

A man who robbed a First Midwest Bank in Tinley Park Tuesday is suspected to be the same who stole more than $3,000 from a Chase Bank in Mokena last week, The Chicago Tribune reports. 

In both cases, the robber did not use a weapon and fled the scene on foot. The Mokena robbery occurred at 1:33 p.m. Feb. 21. The Tinley Park incident took place at 10:15 a.m. Feb. 26.

The offender is approximately 40 years old, 5-foot, 4-inches tall and 200 pounds, according to Mokena police reports. The teller manning the Chase Bank station that was robbed said that the man had an unshaven face and was wearing sunglasses, a dark colored beanie and a grey sweatshirt with a logo.

According to the Mokena bank employee, the robber walked up to his teller station, pulled a white plastic shopping bag from his pocket and placed it on the counter. He then told the teller to put the money in the bag and stipulated “No funny money.”

The teller emptied his drawer and the robber took the bag of cash and left through the front door, reports state. At that point, the teller activated the bank’s silent alarm and notified his co-workers about the robbery.

The bank’s assistant branch manager was able to obtain video footage of the robber.

A Mokena police detective and an FBI agent were both present after the incident to take witness statements. The robbery is currently under investigation. Tinley Park police turned the instance over to the FBI.

—Original reporting by Anna Schier, Frankfort & Mokena Patch

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