Evanston woman charged with robbing Winnetka bank

Julia Jacobs, City Editor

An Evanston teenager was charged Wednesday with robbing a Winnetka bank last month and is suspected of robbing a different bank the previous week, an official from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Arden Metalitz, 19, was charged with robbing a Chase Bank in Winnetka on Nov. 6, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick said. Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation believe Metalitz also robbed a Bank of America branch in Elmhurst, Illinois, on Oct. 29, Fitzpatrick said.

Metalitz allegedly stole about $1,000 from the Chase Bank at 791 Elm St., according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent. A bank teller reported to police that a woman had approached her with a note that roughly said, “Give me all your strapped 100’s 50’s 20’s, I have a gun and a knife on me.”

A woman was reported to have delivered a note saying approximately the same line to a teller at a Bank of America branch, 205 North Addison Ave., in Elmhurst on Oct. 29 before robbing the bank of nearly $3,000.

Shortly after the Winnetka bank robbery, police stopped a car driving at a high speed with three female individuals, including Metalitz, about 1.5 miles south of the bank on Green Bay Road, the affidavit said. The police released the women without charges.

The two females in the car told police that Metalitz had offered them a share of the money in exchange for driving during the robberies in both Winnetka and Elmhurst, according to the affidavit. One of the individuals said she received about $400 and some change for driving. The other involved female, who said she went to school with Metalitz, told police that Metalitz asked her two months ago about robbing a bank because she needed money.

Metalitz first appeared in the Northern District Court of Illinois in Chicago on Wednesday, where Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole ordered her to be held in custody prior to a detention hearing, Fitzpatrick said. The hearing was scheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m., he said.

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