Arrest Made in Niles Bank Robbery

A Chicago man has been arrested and charged with the November 16 robbery of the TCF Bank branch, located at 7759 North Milwaukee Avenue in the North suburb, announced Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Grant was joined by Tom Dart, Cook County Sheriff, and Dean Strzelecki, Chief of the Niles, Illinois Police Department, in announcing the arrest.

MARCEL R. HERRERA, age 27, of Chicago, was arrested yesterday afternoon, without incident, by FBI special agents and officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and the Niles Police Department (NPD). HERRERA was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago late yesterday with one count of bank robbery, which is a felony offense.

According to the complaint, HERRERA entered the bank branch just before closing at approximately 6:50 p.m. He approached the teller counter, where three bank employees were preparing to close for the day. He then verbally announced a robbery, ordering the bank employees to give him the money from the vault while handing them a fabric shopping bag.

After receiving in excess of $200,000 in cash, HERRERA is alleged to have fled the bank on foot and was last seen running through the bank parking lot towards southbound Milwaukee Avenue. No injuries were reported during the robbery.

A major break in the investigation came when a tip was received from a member of the public, who recognized HERRERA after watching news media accounts of the theft, which included images of the robber captured on bank surveillance cameras. Subsequent investigation by the FBI, CCSO, and NPD developed additional evidence linking HERRERA to the robbery and the filing of the charges announced today.

HERRERA appeared before Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys late yesterday, at which time he was formally charged. HERRERA was ordered held without, bond pending his next court appearance which is scheduled for Friday, December 10. If convicted of the charge filed against him, HERRERA faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years’ incarceration.

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.