Getaway Driver Charged In Robbery That Led To Fatal Shootout: FBI

CHICAGO — The getaway driver in Tuesday's robbery at Des Plaines bank that led to a high-speed chase and the fatal shooting of a suspect and the wounding of a police officer and a high school student on Chicago's Northwest Side was charged in federal court Friday with one count of bank robbery, according to prosecutors.

Maurice Murphy, 32, of Chicago, was arrested shortly after an armed robbery at when a witness and their friends chased him down and tackled him in a backyard in the 1900 block of South Chestnut Street, according to the FBI.

Police were able to follow the location of Murphy and 32-year-old Christoper Willis, the suspected gunman later killed by Des Plaines police, using a tracking device planted by a teller in a bag along with more than $15,500 taken from Bank of America at 1300 E. Oakton St., according to the affidavit filed by Herbert Hogberg, an FBI agent in Chicago who specializes in bank robberies.

Murphy and Willis ditched the dark blue Kia Optima they used for the robbery in an alley between Ash and Pine streets, dumping a temporary registration permit, a mask and clothes used in the robbery, according to the FBI agent. Surveillance video from the area showed the two suspected robbers running in different directions, with Willis taking the bag with the GPS tracker.

As police searched the location indicated by the tracking device, they noticed several residents chasing a man down the street. A witness told the FBI they noticed a man running across an alley along with emergency lights and police sirens and suspected the man running was "possibly connected to the law enforcement presence," according Hogberg. After seeing the man double back through backyards, the witness and their friends chased him down and tackled him shortly before 4:45 p.m.

When initially interviewed by investigators, Murphy denied involvement in the robbery. He said he'd taken a CTA Red Line train to Evanston from Chicago, and a woman had then ordered him ride from Uber driver to take him to her house. He said the woman was nowhere to be found, the FBI agent said.

"Murphy further said that he was running at the time of his apprehension because he had been smoking cannabis, was from the south side of Chicago, and had learned to run from police," according to Hogberg.

When investigators confronted him with surveillance images showing them buying gloves and an energy drink from a store before the robbery, Murphy admitted his involvement in the robbery, according to the affidavit. Before asking for a lawyer, he said it was the only time he had done such a thing with Willis, that he did it because he needed the money and that he did not know what his cut was going to be.

Earlier:
Des Plaines Cops Fatally Shoot Bank Robber, Wound Teen: Police
Officer Shot In Head During 'Gun Battle' With Bank Robber: Cops
15-Year-Old's Condition Stabilized, Officer In Serious Condition

After Murphy was arrested, Willis stole a Buick sedan at gunpoint from a Des Plaines woman and fled the scene, according to police and the FBI. He led police on a high-speed chase which ended when he crashed in the 4500 block of West Irving Park Road in Chicago.

Police said Willis exited the car and began shooting, striking a 17-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department in the head. He then ran into Upbeat Music and Arts at 4318 W. Irving Park Road followed by Des Plaines police.

In the shootout that ensued, a Des Plaines officer shot Willis several times and inadvertently struck a 15-year-old Lane Tech High School student in the arm, police believe. Willis died at the scene. The officer and the teen were taken to area hospitals, where their condition stabilized.

Murphy is due to appear in court Monday afternoon for a detention hearing. The Chicago police are conducing an investigation of the fatal shooting of his alleged accomplice.

Read more: Criminal Complaint and Supporting Affidavit from the FBI in USA v Maurice Murphy