A 24-year-old first-time bank robber who managed nearly every aspect of his escape, including spilling the cash he had just taken while fleeing through the Loop, has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison.
On the morning of March 12, 2024, Solomon Marshall attended Fifth Third Bank at 1 South Wacker Drive and inquired with a teller about the availability of smaller branches nearby. The teller considered the query peculiar and informed other branches in the region about a possible heist. Marshall returned about an hour later, carrying a brown potbelly’s paper bag. He approached the same teller and handed her a message scrawled on a napkin.
“Put your hands on your chest, walk over, and fill the bag with cash. You have 3 minutes. Nobody gets hurt.”
The teller complied and placed $776 in the bag. Marshall grabbed the money and dashed out of the bank, beginning an escape that swiftly disintegrated.
As he rushed through a neighbouring alley, he removed his mask, gloves, helmet, and jacket and slipped them into the Potbelly’s bag, according to prosecutors. Some of the stolen money ended up on the ground. Surveillance cameras recorded Marshall pausing to recover the dropped cash before sprinting for the CTA.
Meanwhile, Chicago police surveillance officers were combing through the city’s extensive network of transit security cameras in search of the robber. It didn’t take long before they found Marshall. Marshall boarded a Brown Line train after jumping a turnstile at the Washington-Wells station, which was watched by police. Camera operators kept an eye on him as he boarded a Blue Line train at the Clark-Lake stop near the Thompson Centre. Using real-time CTA camera feeds, detectives tracked Marshall’s movements as he moved west.
Officers eventually apprehended him near the Illinois Medical District Blue Line stop, where he was still carrying the Potbelly’s bag with $776 stuffed inside, as well as the clothing he had ditched during his flight, authorities said.
Marshall pleaded not guilty and went to trial in October, but his defence attorney said that he did not contest collecting the money. Rather, he questioned whether his actions fulfilled the federal definition of bank robbery “by intimidation”. The defence contended that the case raised a legal question about the nature of the note rather than a dispute about responsibility for the crime itself. The jury convicted him.
Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 41 months, the lowest end of the applicable guideline range, while the defence requested 27 months, given Marshall’s lack of prior convictions.
As he rushed through a neighbouring alley, he removed his mask, gloves, helmet, and jacket and slipped them into the Potbelly’s bag, according to prosecutors. Some of the stolen money ended up on the ground. Surveillance cameras recorded Marshall pausing to recover the dropped cash before sprinting for the CTA.
Meanwhile, Chicago police surveillance officers were combing through the city’s extensive network of transit security cameras in search of the robber. It didn’t take long before they found Marshall. Marshall boarded a Brown Line train after jumping a turnstile at the Washington-Wells station, which was watched by police. Camera operators kept an eye on him as he boarded a Blue Line train at the Clark-Lake stop near the Thompson Centre. Using real-time CTA camera feeds, detectives tracked Marshall’s movements as he moved west.
Officers eventually apprehended him near the Illinois Medical District Blue Line stop, where he was still carrying the Potbelly’s bag with $776 stuffed inside, as well as the clothing he had ditched during his flight, authorities said.
Marshall pleaded not guilty and went to trial in October, but his defence attorney said that he did not contest collecting the money. Rather, he questioned whether his actions fulfilled the federal definition of bank robbery “by intimidation”. The defence contended that the case raised a legal question about the nature of the note rather than a dispute about responsibility for the crime itself. The jury convicted him.
Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 41 months, the lowest end of the applicable guideline range, while the defence requested 27 months, given Marshall’s lack of prior convictions.
According to court records, Marshall was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $776 in restitution by US District Judge John Blakey on Friday.
Marshall’s legal issues are not over. Court records reveal that he also has active detainers and other criminal charges in Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Ohio. He is also wanted in DuPage County on an aggravated robbery warrant.
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