U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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| In Reply, Please Refer to Release No. |
219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 |
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December 18, 2000 "RAY BAN ROBBER" ARRESTED Kathleen L. McChesney, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Terry G. Hillard, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, announced today the arrest of ROBERT J. SMITH, age 61, of 4849 West Irving Park Road in Chicago. SMITH was arrested by FBI Agents and Chicago Police Detectives, without incident, on Friday evening, outside a North Community Bank branch located at 800 West Armitage in Chicago. FBI Agents and Chicago Police Detectives were conducting surveillance of several north side banks, following a rash of robberies during the past several weeks. SMITH was observed by investigators in the immediate area, possibly casing the bank for a robbery. Realizing that SMITH matched the description of a serial robber dubbed the "Ray Ban Robber", he was approached and questioned. Based on the results of this interview and subsequent investigation, SMITH was taken into custody. On Saturday, he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with the November 27th robbery of the 1st American Bank, 356 West Armitage in Chicago. SMITH was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance. 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. |
