Chicago Man Robs Bank Using Pepper Spray and Fire Extinguisher
Federal officials have reported that Emeril England, a Chicago resident, sprayed bank tellers with pepper spray and a fire extinguisher to force them from their posts, enabling him to steal almost $5,000 from a cash drawer.
England allegedly confessed to the robbery when FBI agents and Northbrook police visited his residence on West Touhy Street last week.
On May 28 at approximately 9:30 a.m., a man entered Huntington Bank on Meadow Road in Northbrook and used a water pistol filled with pepper spray to target the tellers, as stated by an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Initially, one teller asked, “Dude, are you okay?” assuming the man might have mental health issues. However, the situation escalated when the robber discharged a fire extinguisher towards the tellers after not getting the desired reaction from using pepper spray, as noted by the agent.
Following the incident, both tellers sought safety in a room until the suspect departed. Upon their return to their stations, they discovered that $4,915 was missing from one drawer, while the other remained untouched.
Northbrook police identified a vehicle linked to the robbery registered to England at an address in Highland Park. Utilizing license plate reader data to track the vehicle’s movements before and after the crime, authorities located England at his apartment in Chicago.
Upon entering his apartment, England directed investigators to the items they were searching for under his bed.
Authorities found a pellet gun, a dreadlocks wig, a security hat, pepper spray, gloves, and a significant amount of cash in a bag beneath the bed. England mentioned that he did not bring the pellet gun to the bank because “he thought some people were not intimidated by a gun,” based on the FBI agent’s affidavit.
