Chicago man charged with robbing Third Lake bank

A Chicago man robbed a bank Tuesday afternoon in north suburban Third Lake, then crashed his car on I-294 trying to escape and was arrested, authorities said.

Alan H. Vasquez, 46, was charged with bank robbery in a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. He also faces misdemeanor counts of fleeing and eluding, and driving with a revoked driver’s license, and was also issued numerous traffic citations, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.

About 3:15 p.m., the Associated Bank branch at 34354 U.S. 45 in Third Lake was robbed.

Vasquez approached the teller’s station, placed a white plastic bag on the counter and said, “This is a robbery. Put the money in the bag,” according to the complaint. He also said something about dye packs and bait bills.

The teller took $3,851 in cash from their drawer, put it in the bag and pushed the bag back to Vasquez, who left the bank, according to the complaint.

The teller saw him get into a white four-door Nissan Altima with scratches on the driver’s side and watched him leave the parking lot and head south on Route 45, according to the complaint.

The teller activated the bank’s alarm and gave authorities a description of the suspect and his car.

Lake County sheriff’s deputies found the Nissan near Peterson Road and Route 45 in Libertyville, according to the sheriff’s office. They tried to pull Vasquez over, but he drove off.

The deputies chased Vasquez as he headed south on Route 45, then traveled on several side streets before going north, then east onto Route 120 to I-94, where he headed south, according to the sheriff’s office.

The deputies stopped the chase as Vasquez crossed into Cook County, but kept up visual surveillance in unmarked squad cars.

Vasquez continued south on I-94 before merging onto I-294, then exited at Willow Road near Glenview, according to the sheriff’s office.

Vasquez tried to drive around a vehicle stopped at the Willow Road toll plaza that was blocking his route and struck a concrete median before crashing into a Pontiac he was trying to pass, according to the complaint. The Nissan got a flat tire and was immobilized, and deputies approached Vasquez and arrested him.

The plastic bag full of cash taken in the robbery was discovered in Vasquez’s car, according to the complaint.

The driver and passenger in the Pontiac were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Vasquez, of the East Garfield Park neighborhood, was charged with misdemeanor counts of fleeing and eluding, and driving with a revoked driver’s license, according to the sheriff’s office. He was also issued numerous traffic citations.

Vasquez was turned over to the FBI, which charged him with one count of bank robbery in a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. He was ordered detained at his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday morning.