Lady Bank Robber Charged in Palos Heights, Riverdale Robberies: FBI

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL -- An alleged lady bank robber who passed notes to bank employees stating she had a bomb and that ISIS was holding her children hostage was arrested for robbing banks in Riverdale and Palos Heights. The FBI said she was identified a tipster, who recognized her from an online news story.

Dinika Lawrence, aka Dinika Walker, was charged with three counts of bank robbery in federal court. Lawrence is alleged to have robbed the Chase bank in Riverdale on June 23, 2016 and Sept. 9, 2016, and the attempted robbery of the Chase bank branch in Palos Heights on March 24, 2017. In the three instances, the female bandit was observed on bank video surveillance walking with a limp, wearing a long, draped dress or robe, and a headscarf with only her eyes showing, according to the federal complaint.

Lawrence is believed to have stolen a combined $86,000 in the Riverdale robberies, where she presented notes stating she had a bomb and showing bank a device hanging she had around her neck to employees. According to the FBI, one of the notes told employees to “stay calm” and “I have a bomb strapped to me, men from ISIS are holding my kids hostage three blocks here, the timer is set for 12 minutes. I need $20,000 in 20s.”

>>> Lady Bank Robber Attempts Heist in Palos Heights: FBI

The FBI said bank employees recognized Lawrence when she returned to the same bank on Sept. 9, 2016. Using a similar M.O., Lawrence allegedly presented a note stating she had a bomb set to detonate in 12 minutes. She left the bank with $66,000.

The alleged bandit resurfaced on March 24. According to surveillance video and witnesses, Lawrence entered the Chase bank branch located at 12657 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights. A bank employee told the feds that a woman wearing multi-colored clothing and whose face was covered by multi-colored scarves, approached the teller window and presented a note saying “give me everything.” The teller backed away from the window and pressed an alarm. The FBI said Lawrence fled without receiving any money.

Lawrence was seen getting into a tan or gold older model car that appeared to be a Mercury Grand Marquis or similar model. Another employee had earlier spotted the vehicle backing into a space in the bank parking lot. The car remained there for several minutes arousing the employee’s suspicions. The employee went to the back to observe the car on the security monitor, where a female in multi-colored clothing emerged from the car. Surveillance video showed the woman walking with a limp.

According to the complaint, the Palos Heights Police Department had been contacted about 40 minutes before the robbery from a citizen reporting a suspicious, beat-up tan vehicle with tape on the windows and no license plate loitering on the same block as the bank. The driver was described as a large male black and a smaller passenger.

A few days later on March 29, Calumet City police said a large African-American man walked into a Walgreens there, He allegedly reached into the cash register and stole $60. The vehicle seen leaving the Walgreens -- a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria -- was later stopped in Dolton. The driver, identified by the FBI as “Suspect 2,” was arrested. With him was a female passenger. The man was taken into custody.

Dolton police notified the FBI that the car appeared to match the vehicle from the attempted Palos Heights bank robbery. A tipster had also seen an online news story called the FBI claiming to have once been close friends with Lawrence. The FBI said the tipster identified photos of both Lawrence and “Suspect 2” as being husband and wife. The tipster also said Lawrence was born in 1989.

A special agent also identified Lawrence on a commercial database, where she was listed as “Dinika Walker.” An acting and modeling profile lists a 28-year-old woman with that name living in Los Angeles.

The FBI obtained a search warrant where Palos Heights police found a multi-color scarf inside the Crown Vic, the complaint said. Charges were filed against Lawrence on April 6.