Last week, a career criminal left the federal correctional center in downtown Chicago after completing a 96-month sentence for bank robbery. That very afternoon, he allegedly committed another bank robbery, according to prosecutors. The individual, identified as 42-year-old Major McCoy, reportedly confessed during an FBI interview to robbing the PNC Bank at 1231 North Wells Street. He also mentioned losing $150 from the stolen cash after being swindled by a crack dealer before police apprehended him.
In January 2019, McCoy was arrested by Chicago police after robbing the Chase Bank located at 230 West Grand in River North. He was caught while attempting to get into a taxi.
According to investigators, two bank tellers reported that McCoy passed them a note demanding “20,000. Big bills” while threatening he had a bomb and gun. An FBI agent’s criminal complaint indicated that arresting officers discovered roughly $9,300 in cash hidden in the leg of McCoy’s sweatpants.
McCoy was suspected of two additional bank robberies within days of the Chase Bank incident and was eventually sentenced to 96 months in prison.
On April 1, McCoy walked out of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, only to allegedly rob another bank that afternoon, according to prosecutors.
At around 1:24 p.m., a man entered the PNC Bank in Old Town, presenting the teller with a note: “Get me all the money bills only or I will blow this Bitch NO ink pack or G.P.S.”
The teller opened a drawer and handed over five $50 bills in “bait money,” which is cash with recorded serial numbers set aside by banks for such incidents, as detailed in the complaint. The robber exited the bank and ran once outside, according to the complaint.
A Chicago Police Department officer utilized the city’s surveillance cameras to track the suspect and provided a description to patrol units. Approximately 20 minutes after the robbery, a CPD sergeant identified and arrested McCoy, who matched the description, on the 100 block of West Wendell Street after a brief 10-second chase, as stated in the complaint.
During a pat-down, the sergeant reportedly found two $50 bills and the handwritten robbery note in McCoy’s pants. The serial numbers on the bills matched two of the bait bills from the bank’s drawer, as noted in the complaint.
McCoy later informed FBI agents that right after the robbery, he attempted to buy crack cocaine from a street dealer. He claimed to have given the dealer three $50 bills, but the dealer did not provide the drugs, according to the complaint.
State records reveal that McCoy was released on parole in March 2017 after serving half of a six-year sentence for burglary. Prior to that, he had an 18-month sentence for shoplifting in 2013, a six-year sentence for armed robbery in 2008, a four-year sentence for robbery in 2006, and a one-year sentence for theft in 2006.
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