The man suspected of robbing First American Bank in downtown Riverside will appear before a federal judge on Friday for a bond hearing in Chicago.
Federal prosecutors in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court identified 57-year-old Robert Jocko as the man who stole $1,465 from the downtown Riverside bank on March 18 only to be apprehended by local police just minutes later as he tried to flee the area.
Jocko appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cummings on March 19 and was ordered held in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago until Friday’s bond hearing.
According to the criminal complaint, Jocko was wearing a backwards-facing baseball cap, a long dark coat, surgical mask and bright orange shoes when he entered First American Bank, 15 Riverside Road, through a rear door and approached a teller.
Jocko allegedly said something to the teller in a low voice, which the teller understood to be about withdrawing money. When the teller attempted to hand Jocko a withdrawal slip, according to the complaint, he reportedly told the teller to “put the money on the counter” multiple times, while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a black plastic grocery bag, which he placed on the counter.
The teller reportedly handed over cash, which contained a $50 bill whose serial number had been recorded and three $2 bills. Jocko reportedly took the money from the counter, placed it into the bag and fled.
Riverside police, assisted by officers from neighboring towns, descended on the area immediately – the bank is located across the street from the Riverside Police Department – and apprehended Jocko within minutes of the robbery.
The complaint states that police recovered a baseball cap and surgical mask from Jocko’s pockets and found his coat in a trash can two blocks away from the bank.
In addition, police reported recovering about $1,465 from one of Jocko’s socks, including the $50 bill whose serial number had been recorded and three $2 bills. Three witnesses reportedly identified Jocko as the robber, based in part on the bright orange shoes he was wearing as well as his physical features.
Police previously told the Landmark that Jocko’s driver’s license bore an Elmhurst address but that he had been living in Brookfield in the week prior to the robbery.
In addition, the Chicago bureau of the FBI has tied Jocko to the robbery of PNC Bank branch at 6655 W. Cermak Road in Berwyn on March 12. However, the criminal complaint filed against him on March 19 does not reference that robbery.
