Web Extra!
A woman convicted in 2008 for robbing two banks and attempting to rob another has been charged with last month’s robbery of a TCF Bank branch inside a North Riverside grocery store.
Phelicia Marie Van, 29, is in federal custody facing one count of bank robbery, according to a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago awaiting her next court appearance, which has not yet been scheduled.
Van is accused of robbing the TCF Bank inside the Jewel-Osco at 7201 24th St. on Feb. 11.
According to the federal complaint obtained from the FBI, Van made off with $2,950 from the North Riverside bank after handing the teller a note that indicated she had a gun. Surveillance cameras, the complaint states, captured clear images of Van’s face.
After the FBI sent out bank robbery fliers to law enforcement agencies, Van’s probation officer recognized her from the photos and contacted the FBI.
In July 2008, Van pleaded guilty to the Feb. 13, 2007, robbery of a LaSalle Bank branch in downtown Chicago, in which she made off with more than $3,000, according to federal court records. She also pleaded guilty to the March 4, 2007, robbery of a TCF Bank branch in downtown Chicago and of attempting to rob a LaSalle Bank branch on State Street in Chicago on March 9, 2007.
On the latter date, the bank teller called security and Van tried to flee the building, but was trapped by security in the revolving door.
Judge Joan Lefkow on July 2, 2008, sentenced Van to 36 months in federal prison. Van was on parole at the time she allegedly robbed the North Riverside bank. She was released from federal prison on Oct. 16, 2009, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
