Witness Helps Police Track Plainfield Bank Robber: FBI

Kenneth Matlock. Credit: Will County Sheriff’s Office

Bank employees and a witness leapt into action Friday to help police track a suspect after a robbery at the Plainfield BMO Harris Bank, 15901 S. Route 59, the FBI said Monday.

Read: Suspect in Custody in Plainfield Bank Robbery

Kenneth Matlock, 35, is charged with one count of felony bank robbery after allegedly walking into the bank Friday afternoon and handing a teller a note demanding money, according to the FBI complaint.

FBI reports claim that Matlock was wearing a dark-colored hat and sunglasses when he walked into the bank at around 2:20 p.m. After telling an employee he wanted to make a withdrawal, he allegedly handed the teller a note stating “I have a gun, give me the money in the drawer, 50s and 100s only, in an envelope,” according to the complaint. Police said Matlock did not display a weapon.

The teller handed Matlock an envelope containing $750, according to the FBI. Matlock then exited the bank, but was followed by another teller, FBI reports said.

Outside of the bank, an employee alerted a witness in the parking lot to the robbery. The witness spotted a man driving away from the bank in a maroon Dodge Durango, the FBI said Monday.

After confirming with the employee that the man driving the Durango was the robbery suspect, the witness got into a vehicle and followed the Durango, the FBI said. The witness then called the bank employee to relay information including the vehicle’s license plate number and location.

That information helped police track the suspect down. Matlock was arrested in Shorewood about 15 minutes after the robbery, according to the FBI.

The FBI report notes that cash, a BMO Harris bank receipt and bank envelope were found in the Durango, along with two pairs of sunglasses and a black hat.

During an interview with investigators, Matlock reportedly admitted to robbing the bank, the FBI said.

Jail records list Matlock as homeless. According to the FBI, his last known address is in Woodridge.

Matlock was charged Monday in U.S. District court. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

FBI Special Agent Joan Hyde last week said the Plainfield robbery is not believed to be connected to bank heists earlier in the week in Bolingbrook and Joliet. While two suspects were charged in connection with a robbery at Joliet’s Merchants & Manufacturers Bank, a suspect accused of robbing the Bolingbrook bank and shooting a teller remains at large.

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