A daring criminal wrestled the gun away from a security guard who was securing a bank ATM in Avondale on Wednesday night, then escaped with an estimated $100,000 cash from the machine, according to police and an initial estimate of losses.
The crime unfolded just hours after two armed men scored an estimated $150,000 by robbing two ATM technicians in West Pullman.
In the more recent case, a security officer was securing the ATM at Bank of America, 3260 West Belmont, when a man approached him around 10:50 p.m., according to a CPD media statement. The offender reached for the guard’s gun, and the two began to fight.
Police said the robber gained control of the guard’s gun and threatened to shoot him if he did not open the ATM and surrender its cash, police said. The guard complied and filled a black bag with money, which the offender hauled away.
Officers at the scene said the robber was a Black male who wore a black mask, black hoodie, and black pants who carried the stolen money in a black Amazon bag. About $100,000 cash was taken, according to an initial estimate from the scene.
Earlier, two technicians were robbed while servicing an ATM at Chase Bank, 11721 South Halsted, around 5:35 p.m., Officer Alex Aguas said. Two men pointed guns at the techs and ordered them to turn over the ATM’s cash. The victims complied, and the duo fled the scene.
Aguas referred any further inquiries to the FBI.
A Chicago police officer at the scene said the robbers got away with four cassettes of cash that contained more than $150,000, according to CPD radio traffic first noticed by the Spot News account on Twitter.
Another Twitter user posted a short video that shows an armed man openly carrying a handgun while an armored car team apparently services the ATM at Bank of America, 250 W 83rd Street.
It wasn’t clear when the video was taken, but that bank branch was the scene of a violent ATM robbery last month that left one armored car guard dead and another injured. Prosecutors later said four men robbed the guards, and two of the offenders then killed the other two accomplices.
“It’s as if these two defendants tried to copy every armed robbery movie out there, right down to the double-cross,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said as he presented charges against Deandre Jennings, 20, and Antwon Montgomery, 19.
Jennings and Montgomery are charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, and armed robbery. Judge Charles Beach ordered them held without bail.
Murphy said the slain accomplices were 21-year-old Naiqwon Harper and 27-year-old George Holmes.
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