Man Who Allegedly Stabbed Security Guard with Screwdriver Charged with Bank Robbery

Charges have been filed in connection with the robbery yesterday of the Lakeside Bank, 2800 North Ashland Avenue in Chicago.

JAMES D. ERWIN, age 51, whose last known address was 919 North Ashland in Chicago, was charged today in a criminal complaint with one count of bank robbery. According to the complaint, ERWIN was followed out of the bank by a security guard, who attempted to detain ERWIN. A struggle ensued and the guard was stabbed several times by ERWIN using a screwdriver. Chicago police arrived and were able to arrest ERWIN without further incident. The guard was treated at the scene but did not require hospitalization.

ERWIN appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan in Chicago, earlier today, at which time he was formally charged. ERWIN was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance.

Though not charged, ERWIN is also a suspect in the August 2, 2011 robbery of the Bank of America branch, located at 3215 North Lincoln Avenue.

Additional information about this and other Chicago area bank robberies 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.