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The 26-year-old Loami man suspected in the Tuesday robbery of PNC Bank in Morton could face a minimum of 25 years in prison according to Morton Police Department Deputy Chief Craig Hilliard.
William P. Hill now faces federal burglary charges for allegedly robbing the PNC Bank, 80 E. Jefferson, at gunpoint. He is currently being held at Tazewell County Justice Center in Pekin.
It was a Washington Police Department officer who is less than a week away from retirement who nabbed the suspect at the corner of Lakeland Avenue and the Washington Blacktop. The officer recognized the vehicle, a gray Buick LaSabre with no rear license plate, from eye-witness reports. The officer then conducted a felony traffic stop, which reportedly occurred with no incident about 40 minutes after the alleged bank robbery. Deer Creek police assisted with the arrest following the confrontation.
Hilliard extended gratitude to eye witnesses and members of the public who, he said, were integral in providing a solid description of the suspect and his whereabouts moments following the robbery.
"We're very fortunate the scenario went down the way it did," Hilliard said Thursday. "Eye witnesses were able to phone us from the bank and give us a timely description of what was going on."
Witnesses provided warning to police prior to the department receiving an alert from the bank.
"The prompt action of eye witnesses allowed us to relay this information to our dispatchers as it was unfolding," Hilliard said. "It allowed us to broadcast information to area agencies in a timely fashion."
Much of the events that took place within the bank during the alleged robbery will not be released due to the ongoing investigation.
What is known is that the suspect was allegedly wearing a mask and pointing a handgun at employees and customers during the robbery. He also threatened harm during the incident. He fled the scene immediately after he was handed the money he demanded.
An undisclosed amount of money was recovered ... some of it by those who witnessed the event unfold in front of their eyes.
When the suspect fled the bank, he reportedly dropped an undisclosed amount of money as he ran to his car.
Mortonite Mike Fuoss, a Morton Community Bank employee who was just finishing lunch at the time of the incident, pulled onto Jefferson Avenue and noticed a truck parked awkardly on the street, so he decided to find out what was going on.
The 26-year-old Loami man suspected in the Tuesday robbery of PNC Bank in Morton could face a minimum of 25 years in prison according to Morton Police Department Deputy Chief Craig Hilliard.
William P. Hill now faces federal burglary charges for allegedly robbing the PNC Bank, 80 E. Jefferson, at gunpoint. He is currently being held at Tazewell County Justice Center in Pekin.
It was a Washington Police Department officer who is less than a week away from retirement who nabbed the suspect at the corner of Lakeland Avenue and the Washington Blacktop. The officer recognized the vehicle, a gray Buick LaSabre with no rear license plate, from eye-witness reports. The officer then conducted a felony traffic stop, which reportedly occurred with no incident about 40 minutes after the alleged bank robbery. Deer Creek police assisted with the arrest following the confrontation.
Hilliard extended gratitude to eye witnesses and members of the public who, he said, were integral in providing a solid description of the suspect and his whereabouts moments following the robbery.
"We're very fortunate the scenario went down the way it did," Hilliard said Thursday. "Eye witnesses were able to phone us from the bank and give us a timely description of what was going on."
Witnesses provided warning to police prior to the department receiving an alert from the bank.
"The prompt action of eye witnesses allowed us to relay this information to our dispatchers as it was unfolding," Hilliard said. "It allowed us to broadcast information to area agencies in a timely fashion."
Much of the events that took place within the bank during the alleged robbery will not be released due to the ongoing investigation.
What is known is that the suspect was allegedly wearing a mask and pointing a handgun at employees and customers during the robbery. He also threatened harm during the incident. He fled the scene immediately after he was handed the money he demanded.
An undisclosed amount of money was recovered ... some of it by those who witnessed the event unfold in front of their eyes.
When the suspect fled the bank, he reportedly dropped an undisclosed amount of money as he ran to his car.
Mortonite Mike Fuoss, a Morton Community Bank employee who was just finishing lunch at the time of the incident, pulled onto Jefferson Avenue and noticed a truck parked awkardly on the street, so he decided to find out what was going on.
"I said, 'That's unusual,' Fuoss said. "It just didn't look right."
Fuoss, not yet aware that a robbery had just taken place, said he helped other pedestrians as they picked up the dropped money from the sidewalk along Jefferson Street. Through conversation with another person helping, he realized what had just occurred.
A Washington police officer later caught the suspect at about 1:42 p.m. before transporting him back to the Morton Police Department. Special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations later transported Hill to Tazewell County Justice Center.
Alerting Jefferson School
"Many factors were taken into account as this unfolded," Hilliard said.
One, he said, was his concern for Jefferson School students and their safety due to the school's close proximity to the bank. Hilliard personally visited the school to talk with officials.
"Because of the timely information from eye witness accounts, we felt the safety of (students) was never in imminent peril," Hilliard said. "Certain precautionary measures were taken to help eliminate any safety concerns for the children."
School officials did not order a lockdown based on the information that was relayed to them regarding the incident, Hilliard said. Students were able to go home at the typical school release time. which is about 2:30 p.m.
Hilliard said he is pleased with the way bank employees executed their procedures.
"It doesn't always turn out like this," he said. "We are very fortunate that things went the way they did.
"Nobody was injured and the investigation continues."
As for the supected robber ...
"Things didn't quite go as he wished," Hilliard said.
