SUSPECT ARRESTED IN ROOSEVELT ROAD ROBBERIES

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today that charges have been filed in connection with the investigation of a serial bank robber, dubbed the "Roosevelt Road Robber". NICHOLAS J. ALEXANDER, age 38, of 141Prairie in Westmont, Illinois was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one (1) count of Bank Robbery and one (1) count of attempted Bank Robbery, both of which are felony offenses.

According to the complaint, ALEXANDER was implicated in the August 3, 2007 attempted robbery of the Northern Trust Bank branch, located at
1 Oak Brook Terrace Drive in Oak Brook Terrace, and the armed robbery of the Fifth Third Bank branch, located at 1768 South Blanchard Street in Wheaton on the same day.

The complaint alleges that ALEXANDER entered the Northern Trust Bank at approximately 4:00 PM, approached a teller and orally announced a robbery. He implied that he was armed and threatened the teller with harm, if his demands were not met. ALEXANDER fled the bank empty handed when both he and the teller were unable to open her locked cash drawer. The complaint then alleges that ALEXANDER walked into the Fifth Third Bank in Wheaton, less than an hour later, and again approached a teller announcing a robbery and demanding money from her cash drawer. This time, ALEXANDER is alleged to have made off with just over $3,500.00 in cash, escaping in a vehicle that was parked in a nearby church parking lot. No weapon was displayed and no injuries were reported in either robbery.

These two incidents, along with an earlier robbery in Glen Ellyn and a subsequent theft in Elmhurst, were investigated jointly by the FBI and Detectives from all four affected communities, aided by the Westmont Police Department. According to the complaint, ALEXANDER was linked to the two incidents on August 3rd when latent fingerprints discovered at one of the scenes were identified as ALEXANDER's by the FBI's Forensic Laboratory in Virginia.

This robber was dubbed the "Roosevelt Road Robber" as all of his suspected thefts occurred at banks located on or near Roosevelt Road in the Western suburbs.
In announcing the filing of these charges, Mr. Grant wishes to recognize the invaluable assistance provided by the Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Oak Brook Terrace, Westmont and Wheaton Police Departments in solving these robberies. "Once again, the combined efforts of federal and local law enforcement have proven to be the most effective means of investigating violent crime" said Mr. Grant.

ALEXANDER is currently being held on unrelated charges at the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton. It is anticipated that he will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason in Chicago, sometime next week, at which time he will be formally charged. If convicted of the charges filed against him, ALEXANDER faces a possible sentence of up to 40 years incarceration.

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.

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