‘Change Up Bandits' commit fifth bank robbery

CHICAGO (STMW) - The “Change Up Bandits,” a pair suspected of four robberies at three Chicago-area banks since late 2014, committed a fifth heist last week in west suburban Forest Park on the one-year anniversary of their first robbery.

A man and woman are suspected of robbing the banks, each time changing their disguises, according to a statement from the FBI.

Most recently, they robbed the U.S. Bank branch at 7525 Madison St. in Forest Park at 10:05 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2015, the FBI said.

Their earlier robberies occurred:

12:18 p.m. Dec. 31, 2014 and 11:25 a.m. Aug. 3, 2015 at Community Bank, 1001 Lake St., Oak Park;
Aug. 28, 2015 at Byline Bank, 601 N. Harlem Ave., Oak Park;
Sept. 23, 2015 at U.S. Bank, 6700 W. North Ave.
The man is described as a 35 to 49-year-old, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1, 200-pound black man, the FBI said.

The woman is described as a 20 to 25-year-old, 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-7, Hispanic woman with a large build, the FBI said.

During the Dec. 31, 2014 Community Bank robbery, the man wore winter clothes “from head to toe,” approached a bank employee and “made a threatening demand for money,” according to the statement.

In the second Community Bank robbery, the same man was dressed as a woman, and he brought the woman suspect with him to act as look out, according to the statement.

The suspects displayed a gun in both of the Community Bank robberies.

The man wore a head covering and sunglasses during the Byline Bank robbery, according to the statement.

During the September U.S. Bank robbery, the woman dressed as a man wearing a fake mustache, baseball cap, sunglasses and a sweatshirt, according to the statement.

Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI’s Chicago office at (312) 421-6700.