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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation

In Reply, Please Refer to Release No.

219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604

October 28, 2002 Suspect Arrested in $100,000 Bank Robbery Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Terry G. Hillard, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Michael F. Sheahan, Cook County Sheriff, announced today the arrest of SEAN T. WILEY, age 36, whose last known address was in Calumet Park, Illinois. WILEY was arrested by members of the Chicago FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) late Friday evening, without incident, at the Plaza Inn Motel, located at 12800 South Ashland Avenue in Calumet Park. WILEY was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with the October 7, 2002 robbery of the Midwest Bank branch, located at 300 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. According to the complaint, WILEY entered the bank and approached a teller, orally announcing a robbery and demanding money. WILEY is alleged to have displayed to the teller a handgun which he had tucked in the waistband of his pants. He also had a shoe box, which he claimed contained explosives and threatened to detonate if his demands were not met. WILEY ordered the teller to fill a plastic bag he had brought with him with cash from the bank's vault, giving her 30 seconds to comply with his demand. After receiving the money filled bag, WILEY fled the bank. He was pursued by the bank's security guard, who confronted WILEY several blocks away. After a brief standoff, WILEY escaped, leaving behind several items of evidence, including the shoe box, which was determined to contain a hoax explosive device. An audit of the bank following the robbery determined that in excess of $100,000 had been taken during the theft. Investigation by the VCTF identified WILEY as a suspect in the robbery and tracked him to a room at the Plaza Inn Motel, where he was arrested Friday evening. Approximately $80,000 in cash, which is suspected proceeds from the robbery, was also recovered during the arrest. WILEY appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown in Chicago, Saturday morning, at which time he was ordered held without bond pending his next scheduled court appearance. If convicted of the charges, WILEY faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Chicago Police Detectives and Cook County Sheriff's Officers. 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: A copy of the complaint filed against WILEY is available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645.

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