Suspected Red Line Robber Nabbed
By Anthonia Akitunde in News on Aug 30, 2009 6:45PM
Surveillance images of the alleged "Red Line Robber" courtesy of FBI and via Chicago Breaking News.
Roseland resident Lance Dennie, 44, was found and charged with one count of bank robbery. Dennie was denied bail on Saturday. Known as the Red Line Robber (most of the robberies occurred along the Red Line), Dennie could face 20 years in jail if convicted, CBS2 reports.
One downtown Charter One bank teller's ingenuity during a June 8 robbery led to Dennie's capture.
According to an FBI affidavit, Dennie walked into the bank's 33 W. Grand Avenue location around 2:30 p.m. He told a teller he wanted to open a checking account and was directed to a desk in the lobby. Dennie responded by saying he didn't want to open an account and raised his shirt to show a handgun tucked into the waistband of his pants. Chicago Breaking News reported the rest of the robbery as described in the affidavit:
He asked the teller something to the effect of, "You don't want to get shot, do you," according to the affidavit. He then told that teller and others to put bundles of cash in a black plastic bag. One teller surreptitiously put a dye pack in the bag along with the money.
Dennie allegedly made off with $10,585.26, according to CBS2. The Red Line Robber also picked up a newspaper he'd left on the counter, and exited out the back through the employee's entrance.
Police arrived a few minutes later, viewed the surveillance tape and searched the alley behind the bank. They found the newspaper and $195 stained in dye in a nearby dumpster, CBS2 reports.
The fingerprints found on these objects matched Dennie's print. He was arrested in his home Friday afternoon.
Although Dennie is only charged for this robbery, officials believe he's responsible for eight other robberies dating back to December 2008.