Three days after a federal jury discovered Mohamed Worku not responsible of robbing a Little Village financial institution, he obtained arrested for robbing one other financial institution. As soon as once more, he took the case to a jury trial. However he misplaced this time. Now, he’s heading off to serve a 21-month federal jail sentence and can possible be deported when he will get out, in keeping with court docket filings.
In December 2021, Worku handed a observe to a financial institution teller saying, “Give me the cash Please Thanks.” The teller gave him $492 and he walked out.
However he beat the case at trial, arguing that he by no means threatened the teller or anybody else. He merely requested for cash (he even mentioned “please!”) and the teller gave it to him. And not using a menace, there will be no theft.
Three days later, Worku walked into Citibank, 2001 North Halsted, in Lincoln Park, and handed the teller a observe.
“Please Give me the cash I’ll pay it again quickly banker’s Gife to me upfront,” the observe learn, in keeping with a federal criticism.
The teller handed him $2,068. Carrying a surgical masks, neon inexperienced gloves, and a neon inexperienced winter cap, the bandit headed out the door. Lower than an hour later, Chicago cops noticed Worku close to Lincoln and Armitage, matching the robber’s description. The criticism mentioned he had a inexperienced hat and gloves protruding of his coat pockets and a blue surgical masks in his pants pocket.
Throughout an interview with investigators, Worku allegedly identified that he didn’t have a gun however he “was gonna purchase me one” and “there was gonna be a shootout.”
Talking of cops, he allegedly mentioned, “First m**********r who experience up on me speaking about how I match the outline, lifeless.”
This time, federal prosecutors charged him with financial institution theft and, simply to cowl their bases, financial institution theft. The jury convicted him on each counts.
Federal prosecutors mentioned Worku has 4 grownup convictions for narcotics and “a number of” juvenile adjudications, together with two for theft.
“Though [the] defendant was acquitted of the [2021] financial institution theft cost, the truth that he had been charged and incarcerated for very comparable conduct within the current previous ought to have impressed upon him the gravity of stealing cash from banks,” the prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
