Charges filed against serial bank robbery suspect

Charges have been filed against a man suspected of robbing five banks this month in the western suburbs.

Corey Lewis, 27, of Bolingbrook, is charged with bank robbery by intimidation for a hold-up Sept. 20 at the TCF Bank branch at 2128 S. Mannheim Road in Westchester, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Lewis walked into the bank about 6:25 p.m., walked up to a teller’s station and started to look “nervously” through his wallet, prosecutors said. He told the teller, “I need $5,000 to go to Wheaton for a business meeting.”

He then handed the teller a card from his wallet that read, “Give me all of your money, no sudden or suspicious movements or I’ll shoot,” prosecutors said. He then added, “Give me all of it and don’t give me the dye pack.”

The teller then put all the money from the drawer into an envelope, gave it to Lewis and showed him the empty drawer, according to court documents. Lewis then left the bank with $1,369 in cash.

A Westchester Police Department detective who was investigating that robbery was on patrol about 4:25 p.m. Wednesday in the 10000 block of West Cermak Road when he saw a silver Lincoln MKX – matching the description of a vehicle used in multiple recent bank robberies – being driven by Lewis, prosecutors said. The detective recognized Lewis as matching the description of the Westchester robber and wearing clothing worn by the suspect in a bank robbery Tuesday at a Chase Bank branch in Glen Ellyn.

The detective followed the Lincoln into a gas station parking lot and took Lewis into custody there, according to court documents.

In addition to the Westchester and Glen Ellyn robberies, the FBI said Lewis is also suspected of bank robberies:

• At 1:20 p.m. Tuesday at a Fifth Third Bank branch at 1801 Algonquin Road in Rolling Meadows;
• At 3:15 p.m. Sept. 23 at a U.S. Bank branch at 13521 S. Route 59 in Plainfield; and
• At 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at a TCF Bank branch at 1156 Maple Ave. in Lisle.

At the time of his arrest, clothing matching the suspect descriptions from multiple robberies was found in the Lincoln, prosecutors said.

Lewis appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon, but it was not immediately clear if he was still being detained or when his next court date would be, according to the FBI.