Feb. 22--A second man has been arrested and charged in a Christmas Eve bank robbery in the West Chatham neighborhood after at least one tipster recognized him from a wanted poster issued by the FBI last week, officials said.
Damon Murphy, 32, of Calumet City, was arrested Monday morning in Chicago. He's charged with robbing the TCF Bank branch at 233 W. 87th St., about 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 24, according to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the bank robbery case against Murphy. Davonyay Pratt, of Calumet City, also is charged in the case and was released into a relative's custody following a December hearing, according to court records. Pratt turned himself in to authorities soon after the robbery, telling investigators that Murphy kept all but $200 of the almost $3,900 stolen.
FBI officials on Thursday had announced a $5,000 reward leading to Murphy's arrest.
Murphy, 32, was charged with one count of bank robbery in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Dec. 30, officials said. Murphy was identified as a suspect after media coverage of the robbery, FBI officials said.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, two men walked into the bank at 12:30 p.m., and one of them pointed a gun at bank employees and announced a robbery.
One of the robbers, allegedly Murphy, then grabbed an employee by the arm and took the worker toward a door near a secured area of the bank where money was stored, saying: "Where's the money? I want all the money!" according to an affidavit filed in the case against Murphy. The second robber handed over a note that said, "Don't be alarmed. Dis is a robbery. 50's 100's nobody gets shot."
After another employee opened the door, both robbers entered the secured area, according to the complaint. After emptying several teller drawers, the pair fled the bank with $3,897. No one was injured in the robbery.
After Pratt turned himself in to Calumett City police on Dec. 28, he told investigators that the other robber was someone he knew as "Red," and identified Murphy's apartment on State Street in Calumet City, according to the affidavit. Pratt said the other robber carried a gun during the robbery and that they used a tan van belonging to Murphy as a getaway vehicle.
Tips tying Murphy to the robbery started to come in the day Pratt turned himself in, and when investigators showed Pratt a photo of Murphy, he identified him as the man he knew as Red, according to the affidavit.
Also on Dec. 28, Murphy was stopped by Chicago police and issued several citations, including for driving on a revoked license and having no valid vehicle registration for a tan 1998 Chevrolet Venture minivan he was driving and which was impounded after he was stopped.
An FBI agent investigating the case later viewed security footage from a Home Depot near the bank and from Chicago police pod cameras that shows a gold or tan minivan, similar to Murphy's vehicle, in the area of the bank around the time of the robbery, according to the affidavit.
Murphy was scheduled to appear in federal court Monday afternoon.
If convicted of the charges filed against them, each defendant faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
