Feb. 14--A Chicago man suspected of getting away with nine local bank robberies was caught by police in Monona, Wis., after a chase on a frozen lake last month, authorities said.
The FBI suspects that Corey Collier, 30, is the "Play-Along Bandit," wanted for robbing nine Chicago banks since October and one in Monona.
He branched out to Wisconsin with his latest attempt, according to the FBI's BanditTracker website and Monona Chief of Police Walter Ostrenga, who suspects Collier took a bus from Chicago on the morning of Jan. 20 specifically to rob a bank in Monona, near Madison. From the bus stop, he walked about half a mile to Anchor Bank, 6501 Monona Drive.
After robbing the bank, Collier tried to walk back to the bus stop, authorities said. By that time police had been alerted and officials from several law enforcement agencies had set up a perimeter.
Collier led them on a brief foot chase across a highway, into a frozen marshy area and onto the ice of a nearby lake.
"He's running on the ice on the lake and running between ice fisherman," Ostrenga said.
Collier eventually was apprehended with the help of a police canine unit and an airboat, Ostrenga said.
Collier was charged with robbery of a financial institution, a state felony, and is awaiting trial in Dane County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 cash bond.
Nobody has yet been charged in connection with the Chicago robberies, according to FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. But the BanditTracker website lists the Anchor Bank robbery as the Play-Along Bandit's most recent heist.
The Play-Along Bandit, so-called because he poses as a customer and tries to make small talk with bank customers and employees, is suspected of nine Chicago bank robberies, including:
--Jan. 14: BMO Harris branch, 901 E. 47th St.
--Jan. 9: MB Financial branch, 1542 W. 47th St.
--Jan. 2: First American Bank branch, 1241 S. Wabash Ave.
--Dec. 20: ABC Bank branch, 5645 W. Corcoran Place
--Dec. 6: Harris Bank branch, 1620 W. 95th St.
--Nov. 25: First Merit Bank branch, 1715 W. 47th St.
--Nov. 14: Citibank branch, 2000 W. 79th St.
--Oct. 28: Fifth Third Bank branch, 8140 S. Ashland Ave.
--Oct. 18: ABC Bank branch, 9443 S. Ashland Ave.
