A man suspected in the robbery of a Hoffman Estates bank this week and an Addison bank last month was arrested Wednesday after he passed out at a Schaumburg train station, according to court records.
Justin Hernandez, 24, who’s homeless, was arrested after a former roommate to whom Hernandez owed $2,000 for rent called the FBI and identified him Tuesday, then tipped off the FBI that Hernandez was at the Schaumburg train station Wednesday, according to the FBI.
Hernandez is accused of robbing a Chase Bank branch, 2555 W. Golf Road, Hoffman Estates, about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The same person who robbed the Chase in Hoffman Estates also is suspected of robbing a Chase branch at 1600 W. Lake St., Addison, on Dec. 12, according to the FBI. Hernandez is not charged in the Addison robbery.
On Tuesday, a man walked into the Hoffman Estates bank, went up to a teller counter and put a note on the counter, according to an FBI affidavit in the case. The note demanded “3,000 or I shoot you. Then I shoot myself,” according to the affidavit. The teller gave the man about $1,230 in cash and the robber left the bank.
After the robbery, the teller was shown photos of six people, including one of Hernandez, and the teller said the photo of Hernandez was a photo of the bank robber, according to the affidavit.
Hernandez’s former roommate spoke with an FBI agent Tuesday and told the agent that after knowing each other for about 12 years, the two lived in the same home from about September to November, according to the affidavit. Hernandez owed the roommate about $2,000 in rent and on Tuesday, Hernandez called the roommate about 12:45 p.m. to ask for a ride from a Subway restaurant in Hoffman Estates.
The Chase branch is at the east end of a shopping center at Golf and Barrington roads; a Subway restaurant is at the west end of the same shopping center.
The roommate picked up Hernandez from the Subway and he gave the roommate about $1,000, according to the complaint against Hernandez. When Hernandez met the roommate he was wearing all black, just as surveillance photos showed the robber was wearing in the bank.
After speaking with the FBI, the roommate identified surveillance photos from the bank as photos of Hernandez, according to the affidavit.
On Wednesday, the roommate told the FBI Hernandez was at the train station, according to the affidavit. FBI agents went to the station and found Hernandez, but he was unconscious and they called paramedics.
Hernandez, who again was wearing all black, was taken to a hospital and treated. When he was released, an FBI agent interviewed him and Hernandez admitted he robbed the Hoffman Estates bank, according to the affidavit.
In the Addison robbery, a man walked into the bank about 6 p.m. Dec. 12 and demanded money, according to Addison police. The man didn’t show a gun, but implied that he had one, and then left the bank with cash, according to police.
Hernandez made an initial appearance in federal court in Chicago on Thursday, according to the FBI. He was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, pending another hearing, according to records.
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The FBI had been offering a $1,000 reward for the person who robbed the two banks. It’s unclear if the roommate will be given the reward.