Man Admits to Robbing Eight Chicago-Area Banks

CHICAGO — A man has admitted in federal court that he robbed eight Chicago-area banks over a seven-month period in 2019.

MANUEL MARTINEZ, 26, of Chicago, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of bank robbery.  Martinez admitted in a plea agreement that he robbed a total of eight banks in Chicago and nearby suburbs from April to September of 2019.

Two co-defendants – ANDRES ADAME, 37, of Melrose Park, Ill., and AARON FLORES, 24, of Chicago – previously pleaded guilty to three counts of bank robbery apiece and admitted to participating with Martinez in some of the heists.

Each count of bank robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman set sentencings for Oct. 4, 2022, for Adame; Oct. 13, 2022, for Flores; and Nov. 30, 2022, for Martinez.

The guilty pleas were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ashley Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Elmwood Park Police Department, Park Ridge Police Department, Franklin Park Police Department, Niles Police Department, and Schiller Park Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley A. Chung.

Martinez, Adame, and Flores admitted to participating in the following robberies:

• Citibank, 3535 N. Central Ave. in Chicago, on Sept. 17, 2019.
• TCF Bank, 1 W. Devon Ave. in Park Ridge, Ill., on Sept. 18, 2019.
• PNC Bank, 10272 W. Grand Ave. in Franklin Park, Ill., on Sept. 26, 2019.
• Fifth Third Bank, 5670 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, on Sept. 27, 2019.
• U.S. Bank, 7312 W. Grand Ave. in Elmwood Park, Ill., on Oct. 2, 2019.

Martinez and Adame also admitted to participating in the following robberies:

• Chase Bank, 7007 Dempster St. in Niles, Ill., on April 6, 2019.
• TCF Bank, 9343 W. Irving Park Rd. in Schiller Park, Ill., on Sept. 6, 2019.

In addition, Martinez admitted to robbing Citibank, 3535 N. Central Ave. in Chicago, on April 10, 2019, while Adame admitted to robbing U.S. Bank, 10035 W. Grand Ave. in Franklin Park, Ill., on Feb. 2, 2019, and Chase Bank, 2639 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, on April 27, 2019.