Chicago Area Local News

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. (CBS) ― Police say armed escapee Robert Maday robbed a bank in Bloomingdale Friday morning, nearly a day after he disarmed two officers and escaped in Rolling Meadows.

Police say Maday committed an armed robbery of a First American Bank branch near the corner of Gary Avenue and Schick Road in Bloomingdale. The FBI was on the scene by 9 a.m.

Preliminary details indicate that Maday announced a robbery at the bank, 80 Stratford Dr., demanded cash, implied he had a weapon, then fled the bank on foot. There were no injuries.

FBI agent Paul Block said Friday morning that during the robbery, Maday identified himself as the man who had been on the news the day before.

Matt Bernard lives within 100 yards of the banks, and thinks he saw Maday moments before the heist occurred.

"When I looked and I saw the kink in the nose, and I'm like, 'Nah,' so I went into the apartment, turned on the TV, and sure enough, I'm like, 'That is the guy,' and then we saw the bank get robbed, so we called 911 right away," he said.

There are also reports that Maday was seen in the area carrying McDonald's and Taco Bell bags.

Bloomingale police said at a news conference Friday that Maday's actions will "determine how this ends."

As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, Maday earlier carjacked a vehicle on Hassell Road in the northwest suburb sometime around 7 a.m. Friday. Police said he approached a female dental assistant who was pulling into work and forced her out of her car at gunpoint.

The dental assistant first saw him sitting on the curb wearing blue jeans, a green T-shirt, and a white baseball cap with black writing on it. She later identified him as Maday from photos.

The dental assistant wasn't hurt, but was shaken up.

It is not clear what Maday did when he went out of sight overnight, but police suspect he was in hiding before the Hoffman Estates carjacking.

"I can't imagine he just sat on the curb all night; somebody would have seen him," said Hoffman Estates police Lt. Rich Russo, "so I assume he was in hiding throughout the night, and maybe just appeared when he saw a vehicle come in."

The location where the carjacking happened is just south of the Northwest Tollway and just east of Barrington Road. A police bulletin indicates he carjacked a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta ith Illinois license plate A392864 that was seen headed west on Hassell Road.

Workers at the quiet office complex had never seen anything like it.

"I got here at about 10 to 7, and when I drove in the parking lot, there was one police car already down in the parking lot, and another came flying past me after I pulled in," said Nancy Campbell.

When asked if the situation was disturbing, Bob Gajda said, "It's kind of exciting. It looked like we got everybody but the Marines out here this morning."

The carjacked Jetta was later spotted in Bloomingdale where Maday allegedly robbed the bank. It has not been learned whether Maday ditched the car or took off again in it.

"We're asking the public if they see the vehicle, do not approach it," Russo said. "Call 911 immediately."

After Maday was spotted, Hoffman Estates District 211 schools were placed on "soft lockdown." Outside doors are locked, students may not leave the building, and visitors may not enter. 

All 27 schools in District 54 are also on soft lockdown. This includes schools in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Hanover Park, Roselle and Elk Grove Village.

Meanwhile, police have set up a hotline to take leads from the public: (888) 869-4590.

Police and the U.S. Marshal's office are now offering a reward to help track down the escaped prisoner, although they have not released any specifics about how high it would be. They say you should keep a vigilant watch and do whatever you can to protect yourself.

"He's got a violent criminal history. Obviously the actions that he took ... were violent in nature," Chief Deputy Officer John O'Malley of the U.S. Marshalls Service said Thursday.

The FBI, the U.S. Marshals, Illinois State Police, Cook County sheriff's police and numerous suburban police departments are involved in the manhunt.


Crime Spree Started Thursday
Cook County officers were transporting the 39-year-old Maday from Kankakee County to a hearing at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse, according to State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. 

Maday was handcuffed and his feet were shackled as he was being escorted by two armed investigators from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

While still in the vehicle, Maday was able to get a weapon from one of the investigators and used his weapon to force the other investigator to give up his gun by threatening the first investigator's life, according to Ralph DeWitt, chief investigator for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

"He was just able to catch one of them off guard and grab his gun and then ... threaten his life, threaten to kill him if the other one didn't cooperate," DeWitt said. The vehicle did not have a protective divider between the front and rear seats.

Sources said Maday should have at least had his hands cuffed in front with a chain running down to his legs, where he should have been shackled. The two investigators he overpowered had a combined service history of over 20 years.

After getting the investigators' weapons, DeWitt said Maday forced them to pull into a parking lot and release his cuffs and shackles. Maday then shackled the officers in the back of the car and fled the scene.

Maday also forced the one investigator to change pants with him, leaving the investigator having to wear a pair of orange prison pants. DeWitt said the two officers were obviously shaken up by the incident.

"They're doing as well as can be expected right now. It's a very traumatic experience, we're just so fortunate that he didn't hurt them," DeWitt said.

After fleeing from the officers, Maday carjacked a vehicle from a shopper at the nearby Meijer Supermarket near Algonquin and Golf roads in Rolling Meadows, according to Scanlon.

Scanlon said Maday then ditched the carjacked vehicle in the 300 block of Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights.

On Thursday afternoon, the manhunt focused on an apartment complex at 2326 S. Goebbert Rd. in Arlington Heights, just east of Arlington Heights Road and north of Algonquin Road. Records indicate Maday once lived at that building.

Dozens of officers were on the scene for several hours, but as of 5:15 p.m. they had left the scene after failing to find Maday inside. State, suburban and Cook County Sheriff's police continued their manhunt as of 6 p.m., but it was unclear where they believed Maday might be hiding.

With an armed escapee on the loose, families Thursday took precautions and feeling jittery.

"We have the doors locked, closed, just to be safe -- we're not taking any chances," Karen Ragusin of Mount Prospect said.

At Mitsuwa Marketplace on Algonquin Road, an employee said that squad cars were circling around the area late Thursday afternoon and had been present since 11 a.m. Police also asked the store to check their surveillance cameras for any clues as to Maday's whereabouts.

Altogether, about 1,000 officers have participated in the search.

A spokeswoman for Elk Grove Township School District 59 said that 14 nearby elementary and junior high schools were placed on soft lockdown for much of the day Thursday. The soft lockdown meant students were kept indoors and all outdoor activities were cancelled. Parents were allowed to come to school to pick up their children. No daycare, no bus service and no after-school activities were provided.

Parents were informed by e-mail and recorded phone messages. Children would only be released to parents or legal guardians. The district spokeswoman said that approximately 6,000 students were impacted by the soft lockdowns.

On Friday, schools in Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove were in session as usual.

Maday is charged in the Dec. 29, 2008, robbery of the Harris Bank Branch at 1190 McHenry Rd. in Buffalo Grove. He was stopped for driving more than 40 mph over the speed limit in Schaumburg, and police found a ski mask and more than $15,000 in cash in his car.

Maday was also facing 13 years in prison for four robberies, and one attempted robbery, in the northwest suburbs.

CBS 2's Susan Carlson, Mike Parker, Kristyn Hartman, Vince Gerasole, and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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