Hero witness credited with arrests in Elgin bank robbery, 3 other area heists

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This screen grab of a surveillance camera image shows two men robbing Elgin State Bank, 590 N. McLean Blvd., Elgin, late Wednesday afternoon. Charges were announced Friday against two Batavia men in the case. | Via BanditTracker.com

Updated: February 23, 2012 8:17AM

ELGIN — A brave and alert witness was praised by law enforcement officials as criminal charges were filed Friday against two men in connection with Wednesday night’s armed robbery of the Elgin State Bank branch at 1590 N. McLean Blvd. The robbery had culminated in a car chase, foot search and a “Code Red reverse 911” warning that a dangerous gunman might be loose in northwest Elgin.

One of the arrested men also has been charged with the armed robberies of the Super 8 Motel in St. Charles and Subway sandwich shops in Batavia and North Aurora.

The bank-robbery charges were announced in a written statement Friday evening by Robert D. Grant, special agent in charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; Elgin Police Chief Jeff Swoboda; and Batavia Police Chief Gary J. Schira.

Douglas Kelley, 27, and Lucas G. Marin, 29, both of Batavia, each were charged in a criminal complaint filed earlier Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of bank robbery. Kelley’s arrest in one of the Subway incidents had been announced the day before by Batavia police officials. But the FBI revealed Friday that Kelley had been arrested by Elgin police following the stop of a suspected get-away car at Royal Boulevard and Ruth Drive shortly after the robbery.

Grant said Marin, who apparently is accused of being the gunman who ran away from officers at that time and provoked Wednesday’s reverse-911 alert, was arrested early Thursday morning by officers from the Batavia Police Department following a routine traffic stop.

According to the federal complaint, Kelley and Marin entered the Elgin State Bank Wednesday afternoon just before 5 p.m. Both men were armed with handguns, which were later determined to be pellet guns, and had their faces concealed.

They verbally announced a robbery, demanding money from several teller drawers. After receiving approximately $2,800 in cash, the two fled the bank on foot. Included in the money given to the robbers was a security-dye pack, which erupted when the robbers exited the bank.

Hero witness

Grant said an alert unnamed witness, who was seated in a vehicle parked outside the bank, saw the robbers running from the bank and followed them as they entered a waiting vehicle. That witness then called 911, providing police with a description of the robbers and the get-away car. This description ultimately led to the identification and arrest of the robbers on Royal Boulevard, a few blocks away.

Subsequent investigation by the FBI and the Elgin and Batavia police developed additional evidence linking both men to the robbery, Grant and the police chiefs said.

Grant commended the officers of both police departments for their efforts in helping to solve this robbery. He also recognized the “invaluable assistance provided by the witness to the robbery, whose selfless efforts directly led to the apprehension of two potentially dangerous robbers.”

“There was outstanding work from patrol, investigations and the FBI to bring all involved to justice quickly,” said Elgin Police Lt. Glenn Theriault.

“Like most of the good cases we put together, a citizen was involved who saw something, called us and gave us good descriptions” of the vehicle and people involved in the robbery, Elgin Chief Swoboda said.

During the ensuing search for the third suspect, the community also stepped up and helped, Swoboda said.

“That night it was nice to see people get involved. We had ... calls from residents in Valley Creek (subdivision), ‘Hey, my dogs are barking,’ and calling us when they saw something there. It was nice that they were taking the steps to call us. It is another an example of Elgin residents getting involved.”

“The public’s cooperation has been a cornerstone of law enforcement in the United States for over 200 years,” Grant said. “It is gratifying to see that spirit is alive and well”.

More details

Kelley and Marin appeared before Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow in Chicago Friday afternoon and were formally charged. Both were ordered held without bond pending their next scheduled court appearance. If convicted of the bank-robbery charge, they each face up to 20 years in prison.

Elgin police said a third person arrested Wednesday night during the chase and search — a woman — was not charged in the bank robbery. Her name and connection to the event were not explained by officials.

More robberies

The arrest also closes the investigation into several other robberies in the Fox Valley in recent weeks. Kelley has also been charged with robbing Subway restaurants in both Batavia and North Aurora in November, as well as the St. Charles Super 8 motel on Dec. 29, according to officials from those three towns. His bail was set at $300,000 in the North Aurora Subway robbery.

Kelley, 27, who reportedly has home addresses in both St. Charles and Batavia, was charged Thursday with one count of armed robbery on the complaint of Batavia police. They say he robbed a Subway restaurant in the 0-99 block of South Randall Road in Batavia on Nov. 23, 2011.

The North Aurora police said Friday that he also has been charged with robbing a Subway at 53 S. Randall Road in North Aurora five days later.