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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

March 23, 2004 Three Men Charged in Attempted Bank Robbery Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Philip J. Cline, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) announced today the arrest of DANIEL BURTON, age 44, whose last known address was in Cleveland, Ohio; ANDREW HARRIS, age 34, whose last known address was in East Cleveland, Ohio; and MAURICE LITTLE, age 38, of 2849 North 5th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All three men were arrested Friday afternoon, without incident, by CPD Officers who were responding to the possible robbery of the Plaza Bank branch, located at 6500 West Irving Park Road in Chicago. All three individuals were charged in a criminal complaint filed late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Robbery, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, the manager of the Plaza Bank branch called the CPD 911 emergency line to report a suspicious person in the bank. The manager reported that this individual appeared to have with him, a bag that was identical to one carried by an unknown individual who had robbed his bank four days earlier. Before CPD Officers could arrive, the suspicious individual left the bank. Responding CPD Officers located two individuals nearby, later identified as BURTON and LITTLE, both of whom were detained. A third individual, later identified as HARRIS, was found in a vehicle that was parked nearby. HARRIS appeared to match the description of the individual who attempted to rob the nearby Banco Popular branch, four days earlier, and was taken into custody, along with BURTON and HARRIS. Members of the Chicago FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) responded and conducted additional investigation, which resulted in the filing of these charges. Information was also developed linking the three men to as many as eleven other bank robberies in both Chicago and the surrounding Midwest area. All three men appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys, late yesterday afternoon, at which time they were formally charged and ordered held without bond pending their next scheduled court appearance. If convicted of the charge against them, they face a possible sentence of up to five years incarceration. In announcing these arrests, Mr. Kneir wishes to recognize the efforts of the CPD Officers, whose quick and professional response led to the apprehension of three potentially dangerous individuals. The Chicago FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Detectives from the Chicago Police Department and Investigators from the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department. 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 in this case is available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645.

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