Bond denied for man charged with robbing Lake View bank
Aug 11, 2009
Bond was denied Tuesday for a man charged with robbing a Lake View neighborhood TCF Bank branch on Saturday, only to be found hours later by authorities inside a North Side hotel room.
Richard Barta, 62, of Chicago, was arrested on Saturday by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Tak Force following the robbery at the TCF Bank branch at 3531 N. Broadway Ave. inside a Jewel-Osco grocery store, according to FBI spokesman Ross rice.
Barta was charged with one count of bank robbery —a felony offense —in a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Rice said.
According to the affidavit, Barta entered the bank about 10:38 a.m. and told the teller twice to put $500 in a bank envelope or something bad would happen. He than told the teller, “Don’t push nothing. Don’t push nothing. Don’t call nobody.”
With the help of the teller and video surveillance, FBI agents were able to find Barta in a Diversey Parkway hotel, the affidavit said. After finding a Cubs baseball cap and a t-shirt identical to the ones used in the robbery in his hotel room, Barta allegedly confessed to agents that he robbed the bank.
Barta told agents he thought he would get away with it, and said, “I am an idiot,” according to the affidavit. Asked what he spent the money on, he said he bought food, crack cocaine and gave money to “Chrissy” -- a heroin user.
Barta is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
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