Cops Nab Bank Robber Through Tracking Device: FBI

Caption: Surveillance photos from TCF Bank branch robbery in Bedford Park, IL, on Dec. 5, 2014. | BanditTrackerChicago.com.

A tracking device led police to an alleged bank robber shortly after he robbed a Bedford Park bank last Friday afternoon, the FBI announced.

David Stallings, 55, whose last known address was in Cicero, was charged in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of bank robbery in connection to the robbery of the TCF Bank branch at 7400 S. Cicero Ave. in Bedford Park.

According to the complaint, a lone white male, later identified as Stallings, entered the bank around 4:15 p.m. A bank teller waved him over to the unoccupied window, after which, Stallings said, “okay, this is what we’re going to do.”

The FBI said that Stallings then pulled out a small gun he had hidden under his jacket and showed part of the handle to the teller before closing his jacket.

Stallings allegedly demanded money, stating, “make sure you give me large bills.”

The teller pulled money from the drawer and placed it in a pile on the counter, along with bait bills and a tracking device. Stallings grabbed the pile and left the bank on foot as the teller pressed the alarm button, court records said.

The lone bank robber was described by the teller as an older white male in his 60s, about 5-feet-8-inches r taller with a skinny build. He was wearing a black ski cap, black hoodie and a blue denim jacket over the hoodie. The gun that was displayed was small and dark in color, the FBI said.

Bedford Park, Oak Lawn and Chicago police responded to the bank robbery. The FBI said that police were able to determine through the tracking device that the stolen money was in the area of 76th Street and Cicero Avenue in Bedford Park.

Police established a roadblock in the area viewing the occupants of vehicles before letting them pass through. Officers entered a bus where they located a man fitting the robber’s description, court records said.

As law enforcement officers approached him, Stallings allegedly announced that the gun in his jacket was not real. Police took the gun away and removed him from the bus.

During a pat down, the FBI said that officers found large amounts of money stuffed down Stallings’ left pants leg. He then identified himself as “David Stallings.”

Stallings appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox and was ordered held pending his next court appearance, which has not been scheduled, the FBI said.

If convicted, Stallings faces up to 20 years in prison.