Since May of this year, multiple banks along I-55 were robbery victims, and the FBI had reason to believe that the instances were connected by a single perpetrator. They described the man, dubbed the “I-55 bandit,” as “young (18 to 25 years old), tall (6’0” to 6’3”), and thin with short brown hair.” They also claimed that, “In all four cases, the unknown subject used a demand note and did not show a weapon but implied he was armed.” Luckily, no one was ever harmed at the scenes of the crime, despite his subtle threats. The FBI’s post was put on the website on July 11, and the bandit had eluded them since then.

Today, however, an Illinois teenager turned himself in to the FBI, claiming to be the infamous bandit. The man that came forward, named Andrew Maberry, is nineteen years old, and is currently facing a charge of one count of bank robbery, relating to an incident on July 2 in the string of crimes.

Extensive thanks came from the FBI in response to the media’s rallying behind finding the thief and having him turned over into the hands of justice. FBI Special Agent Dean C. Bryant came out in a public statement as saying, “We want to thank the news media and digital billboard companies for providing coverage on the I-55 Bandit. We have no doubt Maberry’s surrender was a direct result of the extensive media attention. We also appreciate the dozens of solid tips we were provided by the public. The FBI has long relied on the public to help identify and capture criminals.”

Multiple phone calls were placed to the FBI after they posted pictures from surveillance tapes of the crime scenes, with callers saying they recognized Maberry as the man in the photos.

Maberry faces potential charges for many other instances of bank robberies, up to nine counts.

Image courtesy of the FBI’s website.