Police seek suspects in DeKalb bank robbery
By CARRIE FRILLMAN – cfrillman@daily-chronicle.com and KATE SCHOTT - kschott@daily-chronicle.com
DeKALB – Police are looking for two men who robbed a bank Wednesday in the 1300 block of Sycamore Road shortly before noon.
A hold-up alarm inside the Associated Bank at 1325 Sycamore Road in DeKalb was activated around 11:30 a.m., according to traffic on a police radio. Police say that at that time, two black males dressed in dark hooded sweatshirts threatened tellers with guns and stole an undisclosed amount of money.
"They were last seen running out the back door," DeKalb Police Sgt. Bob Redel said at the scene, noting that the bank is on the lower level of the two-story building and unrelated offices are located upstairs.
No one was injured in the robbery, DeKalb Lt. Gary Spangler said. The suspects initially were on foot but may have left the area in a vehicle, he said.
"We don't have enough of a description to put anything out," Spangler said.
Officers were patrolling the parking lot around noon, and police squad cars blocked off entrances to the bank for several hours after the robbery.
One of the suspects is around 5-feet, 10-inches tall and was wearing fake dreadlocks and sunglasses, Redel said. The other suspect is about 5-foot-8 and was wearing dark clothing and sunglasses.
Police were reviewing surveillance footage of the suspects Wednesday as part of their investigation, Redel said.
"We have some good leads to follow up on," Spangler said. "We recovered some evidence in a neighborhood about a half-mile from the bank that looks like the offenders discarded as they were fleeing."
Spangler declined to say what that evidence was.
This is the second bank robbery this year in DeKalb: The first was Oct. 12 at the TCF Bank located in the Jewel-Osco, which also is on the 1300 block of Sycamore Road and is across the street from the Associated Bank robbed Wednesday.
Both banks were robbed on a holiday – TCF on Columbus Day and the Associated Bank on Veterans Day – in which other banks may be closed. The TCF was robbed by one man, while there are two suspects in Wednesday's robbery. No arrests have been made in the TCF robbery, Spangler said.
"Until we get any solid evidence that connects them, we investigate each one separately," Spangler said when asked if police believed the two robberies to be related. "As we develop leads in one case, we compare it to the other."
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