April 15--The first time the boy robbed a bank, he was 14 and armed with a replica rifle, prosecutors said.
The second time, two years later, he had a chrome revolver when he walked into a TCF Bank branch on the Southwest Side on Tuesday afternoon and told the teller, "Give me everything in your drawer," according to prosecutors.
The teen boy stuffed about $1,600 into a clear plastic bag and ran from the bank, but not before setting off an alarm, authorities said. The teen had only $500 on him when police caught up with him at his Clearing neighborhood home late Tuesday, but he was still in the same clothes he wore during the afternoon robbery, prosecutors said in court Thursday. Police pulled images from the bank's surveillance system and the teen was identified by the female teller in a photo array.
He was charged as a juvenile with armed robbery, aggravated robbery and robbery.
The teen, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, was still on "intensive" probation for the first robbery. He allegedly had cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet and a warrant had been issued for him before the second robbery, according to Assistant State's Attorney Michael Dinard.
"The minor was at a TCF Bank demanding cash," Dinard said, asking the court that the boy be held in custody. "The minor is not only a danger to himself but to the community at large."
The boy's court-appointed public defender suggested that the person in the video was not his client.
The teen, dressed in a Juvenile Temporary Detention Center shirt, sweatpants, white socks and flip-flops, stood with his hands behind his back, while his mother stood a few inches away.
After Juvenile Court Associate Judge Patricia Mendoza ordered him kept in custody, he spoke softly to his mother just before he was led away.
The teen is accused of holding up the TCF branch at 6141 S. Archer Ave. about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday. He was picked up at his home, about 2 miles away, around 8:30 p.m., authorities said.
On Dec. 9, 2014, the teen allegedly went into the Archer Bank branch at 6257 S. Austin Ave., less than a half-mile from his house, and robbed it about 3:35 p.m., according to FBI officials and prosecutors.
The teen, who was 14 at the time, walked into the bank armed with a rifle and took cash before leaving, according to the FBI and prosecutors. The weapon turned out to be a replica, prosecutors said.
There were no injuries reported in either case. FBI officials chose not to pursue charges because the agency does not handle juvenile cases, a spokesman said.
Chicago Tribune's Carlos Sadovi contributed.
