Man charged with robbery at Morgan Park TCF Bank branch

A man has been charged with robbing a bank Tuesday afternoon in the South Side Morgan Park neighborhood.

Avantay Dorsey, 27, is charged with bank robbery by intimidation for the hold-up at a TCF Bank branch inside a Jewel-Osco store at 11730 S. Marshfield, according to Special Agent Janine Wheeler, an FBI spokeswoman.

Dorsey walked up to the counter about 4:30 p.m. and handed the teller a blank deposit slip with a piece of torn cardboard underneath, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The cardboard had a note written on it demanding money and implying that he had a gun. During the exchange, he spoke about his account as if he were trying to look like a regular customer.

The teller handed over money from the drawer, which contained a dye pack, and Dorsey left the bank with $488, prosecutors said. A witness saw him running from the store when something he was carrying exploded and emitted red or pink dye, causing him to drop “a large amount of cash.”

Chicago Police officers on patrol spotted Dorsey at 4:56 p.m. near 113th and Racine, about a mile away from the bank, according to the complaint. They took him into custody when they noticed he matched the robber’s description and saw red dye on his hands and pants.

Multiple bank employees and the witness positively identified Dorsey as the robber, prosecutors said. He initially denied robbing the bank, but later admitted to the act after investigators showed him a still from the bank’s surveillance cameras.

Dorsey had his initial appearance in court on Wednesday, when a federal judge ordered him detained, the FBI said