Federal Grand Jury Indicts Man in Connection With Armed Robberies of Suburban Chicago Cell Phone Stores

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted a man for allegedly robbing cell phone stores in the Chicago suburbs.

OCIE BANKS, JR., brandished a firearm in three robberies and one attempted robbery in late 2020 and early 2021, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The heists and attempted heist occurred at Metro by T-Mobile stores in Cicero, Ill., and Berwyn, Ill.

The indictment charges Banks, 33, of Berwyn, Ill., with three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and four counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.  Banks pleaded not guilty Thursday during his arraignment in federal court.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro G. Ortega.

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.  Each robbery and attempted robbery is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while each firearm count carries a mandatory seven-year sentence.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.