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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 31, 2002 Chicago Man Charged in North Side Bank Robbery Thomas J. Kneir, 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 (CPD) announced today the arrest of CARL E. MILLS, age 31, of 4214 West Ogden Avenue in Chicago. Mills was arrested yesterday morning by CPD patrol officers, following the robbery of the Greater Chicago Bank, located at 7555 North California Avenue in Chicago. MILLS was charged in a criminal complaint filed earlier today in U.S. District Court in Chicago, with one count of bank robbery. According to the complaint, MILLS entered the Greater Chicago Bank shortly after opening at 9:00 AM, approached a teller and pulled a handgun from under his coat, announcing a robbery. He then ordered an assistant manager to take him to the bank's vault, while other bank employees and customers were forced to the floor. MILLS ordered the assistant manager to fill a duffle bag which he had brought with him, with cash from the vault. MILLS then fled the bank on foot, entering a vehicle that was parked nearby. One of the bank's employees followed MILLS outside and was able to get both a description of the vehicle and it's license plate number. This information was relayed to the CPD, who broadcast the vehicle's description over their city-wide radio system. Uniformed officers, on routine patrol, spotted the vehicle and investigated further. Recovered from MILLS' vehicle was a toy handgun, believed used during the robbery and $68,000 in cash, suspected proceeds from the theft. MILLS was taken into custody by the CPD and was subsequently turned over to the Chicago FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of FBI Special Agents, CPD and Cook County Sheriff's Detectives. MILLS appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown this morning, at which time he was ordered held without bond pending his next scheduled court appearance. In announcing this arrest, SAC Kneir wishes to commend both the employees of the Greater Chicago Bank and the CPD for their quick response and invaluable assistance in solving this robbery. 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 MILLS is available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645.

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