Arrest Announced in “Over the Hill Bandit” Investigation

The arrest of a suspect in the “Over the Hill Bandit” serial bank robbery investigation was announced today by Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mr. Grant was joined in making this announcement by Jody P. Weis, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD); Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff; and James D. Ritz, Chief of the Berwyn, Illinois Police Department (BPD).

DANIEL H. KUTZ, age 74, of Cicero, was arrested last week by officers of the BPD following the August 31st robbery of the Harris Bank branch, located at 6811 West Stanley in Berwyn. KUTZ was taken into custody shortly after the robbery by responding officers in the 3100 block of Oak Park Avenue in the near west suburb, after a brief foot chase and the use of an electronic Taser. KUTZ was charged in a criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of bank robbery, which is a felony offense.

According to the complaint, KUTZ entered the Harris Bank branch around 4:00 p.m., approached the teller counter, and announced a robbery, demanding cash from two tellers. After receiving just over $2500.00, KUTZ fled the bank on foot. An alert citizen, who was approaching the bank when KUTZ exited, saw him picking up some currency which he had dropped on the sidewalk. After KUTZ left the area, the citizen realized that he had just robbed the bank and began to follow him, watching as he discarded his shirt in a nearby garbage dumpster. The citizen returned to the bank and alerted responding BPD officers of his observations, resulting in the location and eventual arrest of KUTZ.

Subsequent investigation by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) and the BPD led to the development of additional evidence linking KUTZ to the robbery and the filing of the charges announced today.

In announcing this arrest, Mr. Grant noted both the invaluable assistance provided by a member of the public in solving this case and the professional actions of the Berwyn Police Department, whose officer’s dedication to duty resulted in the apprehension of a potentially dangerous serial criminal.

Though not charged, KUTZ is also a suspect in the April 1, 2010 robbery of a Fifth Third Bank branch, located at 7112 West Cermak Road in Berwyn; the April 21 attempted robbery of the Charter One bank branch, located at 6201 West Cermak Road, also in Berwyn; and the April 28 robbery of the TCF Bank branch, located at 800 North Harlem Avenue in River Forest.

KUTZ is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole, at 2:00 p.m. today, at which time he will be formally charged. If convicted of the charge filed against him, KUTZ faces a possible sentence of up to twenty (20) years’ incarceration.

This case was investigated by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) which is comprised of FBI special agents, detectives from the Chicago Police Department, and investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police.

Additional information about this and other recent Chicago area bank robberies, including downloadable photographs, is available at the Bandit Tracker website, www.bandittrackerchicago.com.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Copies of the criminal complaint filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.