“Wicker Park Bandit” Sought by FBI

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is asking for the public’s help in identifying the individual depicted in the below photos. This individual, who is believed responsible for as many as eight bank robberies on Chicago’s northside since December of last year, has been dubbed the “Wicker Park Bandit.”

The most recent theft took place on January 16, 2012, when the North Community Bank branch, located at 448 North Wells Street in Chicago was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money. During the bank robberies, the lone robber entered the bank and approached a teller with a handwritten note asking for cash. He has not shown any weapons or made any threats during the robberies.

Other robberies attributed to the Wicker Park Bandit are the December 13, 2011 theft from the Chase Bank branch, located at 1700 N. Wells, Chicago, IL; December 20, 2011 theft from the North Community Bank branch, located at 2335 N. Clark, Chicago, IL; December 22, 2011 theft from the PNC Bank branch, located at 4440 N. Broadway, Chicago; December 30, 2011 theft from the Chase Bank branch, located at 1350 N. Wells, Chicago; January 6, 2012 theft from the North Community Bank branch, located at 1555 N. Damen, Chicago; January 6, 2012 theft from the North Community Bank branch, located at 1600 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago; and January 9, 2012 theft from the Chase Bank branch, located at 1200 N. State Parkway, Chicago. No injuries were reported in any of these incidents.

The Wicker Park Bandit is described as a black/male, 20-30 years of age, 5’2”-5’7” tall, thin build, with black hair and brown eyes. He has been dubbed the Wicker Park Bandit as most of his robberies have been in and around the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago.

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

Anyone recognizing this individual or having any information about any of these robberies is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700 or any law enforcement agency.

Additional information about this and other unsolved Chicago area bank robberies, including downloadable photographs, is available on-line at the Bandit Tracker Chicago website, Bandittrackerchicago.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Additional copies of the wanted flyer are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.