A second man has been sentenced in a violent Rogers Park bank robbery that netted less than $10,000 but left terrified customers and employees scrambling for safety.
Kendall Sullivan pleaded guilty to bank robbery by force and using a firearm in a crime of violence before U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama, who handed down a 111-month prison term. The sentence amounts to a little more than nine years. Judge Valderrama previously imposed a 135-month sentence on Sullivan’s accomplice, 25-year-old Troy Luckett, after Luckett admitted to the same charges, according to court records.
The holdup unfolded shortly after 10 a.m. on December 23, 2023, at Byline Bank, 7050 North Western Avenue. Prosecutors said Sullivan and Luckett entered the branch and split up along the teller counter. Sullivan pulled a loaded gun on a teller and demanded cash while Luckett positioned himself nearby.
A teller managed to slip a GPS tracker into one of the money stacks before handing it over. As the robbery continued, two customers happened to walk in. Luckett ordered them to the floor at gunpoint, prosecutors said. When the pair attempted to flee, Luckett allegedly chased them down, grabbed one by the collar, and dragged them back inside.
Officers began tracking the GPS signal within minutes. Police soon spotted two vehicles traveling in tandem with the device. One driver appeared to try to interfere with officers to help the lead car get away. When the vehicles split up, officers chased Sullivan on foot and arrested him. They recovered $9,433, the full amount stolen from the bank, along with two loaded handguns found in a discarded jacket, according to prosecutors.
Luckett initially denied taking part in the robbery, claiming he was in the area for a Grindr hookup. But investigators found his phone inside the bank, undermining his explanation. They also found two firearm cases in his vehicle with serial numbers matching the guns linked to Sullivan, prosecutors alleged.
