Gurnee Mills, a large mall located north of Chicago, has an internal bank for all stores conducting business for security and efficiency purposes.
It all changed when a person presumed to have knowledge of inside operations robbed the Chase Bank at the mall and made out with cash and checks.
Gurnee Mills heist may have been inside
job
December 13, 2006
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
GURNEE - Despite Monday's bank robbery
at Chase Bank, Gurnee Mills security personnel remain tight-lipped
about security measures. The mall appeared to be business as usual
Tuesday after two men dressed in black sweatshirts, pants, masks and
gloves brandishing handguns robbed mall employees of cash and
receipts Monday shortly before 10 a.m. The assailants were walking up
and down the line of employees waiting to deposit receipts and cash,
robbing them at gunpoint.
Chase Bank holds the deposits from all
the Gurnee Mills stores and is hidden from the general public in a
tunnel near the Entry F entrance of the mall.
The two robbers were able to escape
into the Entry F internal exit, where, according to police reports,
entered an awaiting newer model Chevy Malibu driven by an accomplice.
The exit door is within 10 feet of the
bank entrance, making it a possibility it may have been an inside
operation.
"It would appear that the
individuals involved had knowledge of the daily operations of the
bank," Gurnee Police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said Tuesday.
Monday's holdup brings the total of
robberies in the county to 10 this year and the second in the month
of December. The previous incident occurred at a Waukegan TCF Bank on
Dec. 4. Lake County had eight total bank robberies in 2005.
The robbery also adds to the number of
Chicago metropolitan area bank robberies, currently at 278, a yearly
record, according to Chicago FBI spokesman Frank Bochte. The previous
record was held last year with 240 robberies in the Chicago region.
The FBI does not tell banks how to
conduct security measures, but does offer suggestions.
Bochte said most banks utilize their
own security systems based on the crime rates in surrounding
neighborhoods.
"We suggest an investment in a
high-quality camera system in order to receive high-quality images to
make it easier to apprehend individuals," Bochte said.
The Chicago FBI has been able to solve
an average of 75 percent of all bank robberies in the region.
Due to the discrete location of the
bank, several shoppers and store employees working at the time of the
incident may not have been aware of the robbery.
"I do not know much about what
happened (Monday), so I can not comment on it," said Auntie
Anne's employee Jose Hernandez. "I feel fine (every time I make
a deposit). I feel good coming in here and I never find any
problems."
Hernandez added he never noticed any
security problems prior to Monday's incident.
Supervisor Robin Nelson of Liz
Claiborne is taking a more vigilant approach to the situation by
having an additional employee accompany her to make the daily
deposits.
The supervisor decided to go against
company protocol in adding an additional employee. She added the
store manager did not brief her prior to making the deposit.
Several employees interviewed at the
mall Tuesday were either not aware of the robbery Monday or may have
been given vague information.
Chase Bank employees declined to
comment and referred questions to its corporate offices in
Louisville, Ky.
Ton Rinka, the mall's general manager,
declined to comment on the matter noting the "mall does not
discuss security measures with individuals from outside the mall."
Patrick said he was not aware of what
security measures the mall took in the wake of the robbery.
The two stores robbed were Fuzzy Navel,
a mall kiosk business, and LVL X, a denim merchandise store.
Patrick indicated the information
regarding the two robbers were "vague" and there is "not
a lot of leads to go on at this point."
Gurnee police are asking people who may
know about the robbery to contact them at (847) 599-7000 or Lake
County CrimeStoppers at (847) 662-2222.
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