Chicago FBI Press Office

Phone: (312) 829-1199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 20, 2008

CHARGES FILED IN “KANGOL” BANDIT INVESTIGATION

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Jody P. Weis, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD); and Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff announced today that an arrest has been made in the investigation of a suspected serial bank robber dubbed the “Kangol Bandit”.

EDWARD EASON, age 57, whose last known address was in Chicago, was arrested Friday afternoon, without incident, by members of the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF). EASON was arrested in the parking lot of a business located at One River Place in Lansing.

EASON was charged in a criminal complaint filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with the November 29, 2007 robbery of the Charter One Bank branch, located at 10200 South Ewing in Chicago. According to the complaint, members of the VCTF, acting on tips received from the public after this case was profiled in the local media, were able to develop additional evidence identifying EASON as the person responsible for this robbery.

The “Kangol Bandit” was so named due to the distinctive cap that he wore during most of his heists and is believed responsible for as many as 10 bank robberies in Chicago, the south suburbs and northwest Indiana, dating to November of last year.

In announcing this arrest, Mr. Grant wants to thank both the local media and the general public for the invaluable assistance that was rendered by both in the solution of this case. “Public involvement has been a cornerstone of effective law enforcement in this country for over 200 years. The arrest announced today shows once again the importance of the relationship between the public and the law enforcement authorities who serve them”, said Mr. Grant.

EASON appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez in Chicago on Saturday, at which time he was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance. EASON is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. If convicted of the charges pending against him, EASON faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years incarceration.

The Chicago FBI’s VCTF is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Detectives from the CPD and Investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of the complaint filed in this case is available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.