Two convicted bank robbers, including the Second-Hand Bandit found guilty just last week, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in the Loop this morning, police said.
Authorities discovered them missing from their cell at the federal jail at 71 W. Van Buren around 8:45 a.m., according to Central District Police Sgt. Michael Lazzaro.
The inmates were last checked at 5 a.m., he said.
A tan rope could be seen dangling from about 15 stories up along the south side of the MCC, but police would not say whether it was involved in the escape. The rope appeared to be pieces tied together.
Police have cardoned off the building with yellow crime scene tape.
The two are believed to be traveling together and were reportedly last seen earlier this morning in the Tinley Park area, according to the FBI. It said they should be considered armed and dangerous.
One of the inmates is Joseph Banks, known as the Second-Hand Bandit who was convicted last week of two bank robberies and two attempted holdups, according to Lazzaro. He made off with a combined nearly $600,000 in the heists, authorities said.
The other suspect was identified as Ken Conley, who pleaded guilty last October to robbing nearly $4,000 from a Homewood bank last year.
Conley was arrested after showing up at a Chicago Heights strip club where he worked dressed in the same black suit and white tie the bank robber wore and flashing a wad of cash, authorities said.
He had lived in Tinley Park.
rsobol@tribune.com
2 inmates escape from Loop's Metropolitan Correctional Center: cops
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2 inmates escape from Loop's Metropolitan Correctional Center: cops
