Two Chicago Men Arrested in Connection with Oak Brook Bank Robbery

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was joined today by Thomas Sheahan, Chief of the Oak Brook, Illinois Police Department (OBPD) in announcing the arrest of two Chicago men for the armed robbery Tuesday of the Fifth Third Bank branch, located at 1603 West 16th Street in the western suburb.

KENNETH R. HOLEMAN, age 46, of 7030 South Paulina, and HARVESTER L. SMITH, age 35, of 6825 South Wood were both arrested, without incident, by FBI Special Agents, OBPD Officers and Officers of the Chicago Police Department. SMITH was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the 6500 block of South Wood Street while HOLEMAN was apprehended this morning near 7100 South Ashland Avenue.

Both men were charged in a criminal complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of Bank Robbery, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, HOLEMAN entered the Oak Brook bank just after noon, approached a teller and asked for change. HOLEMAN then orally announced a robbery and demanded that he be given all of the money from the teller drawer. He threatened the bank employee with harm, if his demands were not met, and implied that he was armed with a handgun.

After obtaining nearly $3,500 in cash, HOLEMAN fled the bank and entered a waiting minivan. Witnesses were able to obtain the license plate number of the get-away vehicle, which was provided to investigators. Subsequent investigation traced the vehicle to SMITH, who was identified as the driver of the get-away vehicle. Further investigation led to the identification of HOLEMAN as the robber and the filing of the charges announced today.

Although only charged with the Oak Brook robbery on September 15th, HOLEMAN is a suspect in the September 2nd robbery of the Northern Trust Bank branch, located at 1 Oak Brook Terrace Drive in Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois.

SMITH appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole in Chicago yesterday afternoon, at which time he was formally charged. SMITH was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance, and will be held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. HOLEMAN is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Cole, later today. If convicted of the charges filed against them, SMITH and HOLEMAN face a possible sentence of up to twenty (20) years incarceration.

This case was investigated jointly by the Chicago FBI and the Oak Brook Police Department.

Additional information about this and other Chicago area bank robberies can be found at the Chicago Bandit tracker web site, 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.