CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted an
Evanston man on robbery and firearm charges in connection with three violent
gas station heists in the north suburbs.
MARIO BANKS JR., 24, is charged with three counts of robbery
and three counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime
of violence. The indictment accuses
Banks of robbing three gas stations at gunpoint:
Nov. 4, 2018:
Bucky’s Express Mobil, 6400 block of North Cicero Avenue, Lincolnwood.
Feb. 16, 2019:
Shell Oil, 3300 block of Howard Street, Skokie.
Feb. 19, 2019:
Bucky’s Express Mobil, 6400 block of North Cicero Avenue, Lincolnwood.
The indictment was returned June 20, 2019, in federal court
in Chicago. Banks has pleaded not guilty
to the charges and he remains detained in federal custody. A status hearing is set for Sept. 12, 2019,
before U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United
States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Demitrous Cook, Chief
the Evanston Police Department; Jay Parrott, Chief of the Lincolnwood Police
Department; Anthony F. Scarpelli, Chief of the Skokie Police Department; and
Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the
FBI. The government is represented by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. Pruitt.
The firearm counts each carry a mandatory minimum sentence
of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life, while each robbery
count is punishable by up to 20 years.
If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal
statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of
guilt. The defendant is presumed
innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of
proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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