A man has been charged with robbing a Fifth-Third Bank branch in suburban Northbrook.
Ramie Awawdeh, of Des Plaines, allegedly robbed the bank on June 3 while implying he had a gun, according to the FBI.
He walked into the bank at 1300 Meadow Road and handed a note to a teller, according to a federal complaint. In the note, he allegedly said: “This is a robbery. I have a gun. Give me loose bills. 50’s 100’s. No dyepacks. No bundles. I will shoot.”
After grabbing more than $1,400 in cash from the teller, Awawdeh allegedly said, “That’s it, that’s it. Vamos. Vamos,” according to the complaint.
Another bank teller looked on from a distance, realized the bank was being robbed and pressed an emergency button below the counter, the FBI said. Awawdeh left and avoided arrest before the FBI and police responded.
Three days later, someone called the FBI with a tip and said a “former friend” resembled the man publicized in surveillance photo from the robbery, the complaint states.
On June 19, Awawdeh was interviewed by the FBI and denied involvement in the robbery, the FBI said. He agreed to let law enforcement search his phone, in which investigators found a photo of Awawdeh wearing the same Chicago Bears hat seen in video of the robbery.
Awawdeh allegedly said he was working at the time of the robbery, but two supervisors at the employer said Awawdeh had quit the job on May 1, but had been rehired on June 8 — after the robbery, the FBI said. The supervisors agreed that Awawdeh matched the suspect in surveillance photos.
Family and Awawdeh’s girlfriend told investigators that he had been unemployed and was having money troubles, the FBI said.
Awawdeh was later arrested and charged in the federal complain, according to a Northbrook spokesperson.
