A 64-year-old man was charged with robbing a TCF Bank branch earlier this year in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village.
About 5 p.m. Jan. 26, Alexander Stover walked into the bank branch, which is located inside a Jewel-Osco store at 20 W. Biesterfield St., according to a criminal complaint filed Jan. 31 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the FBI. Stover, who had his face covered with a scarf and sunglasses, then announced a robbery and handed a teller a plastic bag.
“No dye pack,” Stover said. “You know how this goes, all the drawers.”
Two tellers then handed over $3,577 in federally-insured cash and Stover took off, the complaint said.
Investigators later saw surveillance footage of Stover walking through the store about 15 minutes before the robbery with his face unobscured, according to the complaint. In the footage, Stover was seen looking in the direction of the bank counter before leaving the store.
Surveillance photos of Stover were then given to the media the same day as the robbery, the complaint said. The following day, a person called authorities and said Stover offered to buy him a drink about the same time as the robbery at a bar located within the same mall as the bank branch.
After Stover bought him drink and told him he used to live on Hemlock Lane in Elk Grove Village, the person ordered him a vehicle using a ride-hailing app, according to the complaint.
On Jan. 29, the driver of the vehicle told investigators that he dropped Stover off at the Arlington Heights Metra station, the complaint said. During the ride, Stover once again said he used to live on Hemlock Lane before noting that he grew up in Arlington Heights and was born in 1952.
The following day, a police officer identified Stover as the robber after seeing his photo in a newspaper, according to the complaint. The officer said he had previously arrested him twice.
One of the tellers, the person from the bar and the driver all positively identified Stover as the robber that same day, the complaint said.
Stover was then taken into custody, the FBI said. He was ordered held during a Feb. 26 court appearance.
