CHICAGO — A career bank robber has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for robbing three banks in downtown Chicago after escaping from a halfway house.
Federal prosecutors said Kenneth Anderson actually robbed at least nine banks, about one per week, between the time he left the halfway house and his latest arrest. They charged him with five of those holdups, and Anderson, 57, pleaded guilty to three.
His attorney offered a unique plea for leniency.
“If one added up all the time Kenneth Anderson has spent committing crimes in his lifetime, it might add up to a handful of hours,” the lawyer wrote in a memorandum seeking a 110-month sentence. In a 57-year life, that is not a lot.”
One might argue that spending a “handful of hours” robbing banks is quite a lot, regardless of one’s age. Among those who consider it to be an unacceptable amount of time committed to bank robbery was U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang. He gave Anderson concurrent 156-month sentences for each of the three robberies. The government asked for 188 months.
Federal prosecutors said Anderson was released from prison for his last bank robbery sentence in early 2022. On April 14, 2022, he walked out of his halfway house, stopped reporting to his probation officer, and never returned. Starting on May 2, 2022, Anderson robbed about one bank every week until he got caught again.
Officials believe Anderson robbed:
- US Bank, 25 East Washington, of $1,339 on May 2, 2022, with a note that read, “Give me all the money in your drawer and hurry your ass up!”
- Chase Bank, 2 North LaSalle, at 4:14 p.m. on May 9, 2022
- Huntington National Bank, 20 North Clark, of small bills at 3:57 p.m. on May 23, 2022, ordering the teller to “Give me all the money now, just give it.”
- US Bank, 71 South Wacker, at 3:16 p.m. on May 27, 2022, and again at 3:47 p.m. on June 17, 2022.
- Citibank, 222 West Adams, at 4:05 p.m. on June 3, 2022. When the teller became confused by his note, Anderson allegedly barked, “I said, Give me all the fucking money now.”
- Huntington National Bank, 29 East Madison, at 3:57 p.m. on June 23, 2022
- PNC Bank, 302 West Adams, at 4:30 p.m. on June 23, 2022
- Bank of America, 515 North LaSalle, of $1,341 around 2:48 p.m. on June 27, 2022
Investigators believe he was on his way to rob his tenth bank when he was apprehended near a bank at State and Adams on July 1, 2022.
A Ventra card linked to the robber was found in his wallet alongside a note reading, “Give me all the money in the drawer now! Hurry up.”
An FBI agent wrote that Anderson wore clothing ”consistent with his practice of wearing two shirts and carrying an extra hat so that he can quickly change his appearance upon exiting a bank.”
In addition to serving prison time, Anderson must pay restitution totaling $16,058 to five banks.
Prosecutors said in their sentencing memorandum that Anderson was convicted of three bank robberies on April 20, 2007, and three more on August 14, 2013.
