The 73-year-old was arrested outside a motel in North Chicago Sunday after the bank robbery took place Saturday; FBI thanks Niles police. Told teller he had six months to live. An arrest is merely an accusation, not evidence of a conviction.
After a Niles bank was robbed Saturday, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and Niles Police on Sunday arrested Walter Unbehaun, 73, of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Unbehaun was charged with one count of bank robbery, a felony, in a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
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According to an FBI statement, the complaint said Unbehaun drove to the area of BMO Harris Bank, 7707 W. Dempster, Niles, on Saturday morning, entered the bank, approached a teller and presented a note announcing a robbery. The note was written on the back of a Harris Bank transaction slip.
The complaint alleges he demanded money and told the teller that he had only six months to live and nothing to lose. According to the complaint, he opened the jacket he was wearing to reveal a handgun tucked in the waistband of his pants.
Earlier: Niles BMO Harris bank robbed
The FBI statement said that after members of the public who had seen media coverage of the bank robbery provided information, the FBI and Niles Police Department observed Unbehaun leaving a room at the Great Lakes Motel in North Chicago Sunday afternoon. Law enforcement arrested him without incident.
Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago field office of the FBI, thanked the Niles Police Department for the significant assistance provided by detectives of the department, the statement said.
Unbehaun appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown and was charged. Unbehaun remains in federal custody pending his next court appearance, which is not yet scheduled.
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Harry Gio
10:53 pm on Monday, February 11, 2013
This is what happens in a BAD economy; nothing good ever comes of it... It won't be long before soccer moms and little old grannys with walkers start robbing banks too; as there no longer is a stereotype for crime.
Harry Gio
10:53 pm on Monday, February 11, 2013
If the old man really has 6 months to live, he will live it abdolutely FREE in Chicago's MCC (Metropolitan Correctional Center)... FREE food, FREE rent, FREE medical, FREE dental, FREE eyeglasses, FREE clothing and FREE 24 hour security... God Bless America !
Lois
12:18 am on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
He'll live the six months in a Federal Prison, probably not anywhere Chicago. That's how we treat people who commit federal crimes. You are right that he'll get all the freebies you mentioned.
Harry Gio
9:50 am on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The old man is much smarter that we think... If he really used a gun, or even mentioned that he had a gun, the federal sentencing guidelines have such stricter sentences for such offences... You know the old saying, "If you're going to do something wrong, you're always better off if it's a federal crime..."
Lois
1:54 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
My point exactly!!
Lois
3:45 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
That's my point. Going to a federal prison is like living in a resort. Just ask our governors. They know.