2 Men Charged After Wild Chase, Shootout in Bank Robbery

Sauk Village - It had all the makings of a great movie plot: Bomb threat, armed bank robbery, shootout and high-speed-chase that ended with the getaway car crashing into a police car.

But it was all too real and when it was over, two people, including a police officer, were injured, and two men were in police custody after a crash on the Bishop Ford Freeway in south suburban Sauk Village.

The suspects -- John R. Gower, 46, of Fairview, OK and Patrick R. Martin, 30, of Ada, OK -- were ordered held without bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys Friday when they were also formally charged with one count of aggravated bank robbery each, a felony, according to a Friday release from federal authorities.

The two were charged in a criminal complaint and they are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. Until then, the pair will be in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in the Loop, according to the release.

The wild series of events started sometime after 10 a.m. Thursday when a call was received at the First National Bank of South Holland at 200 W. 162nd St. reporting a bomb threat, according to FBI spokesman Ross Rice.

The bank manager received a telephone call shortly after 10 a.m. from an anonymous caller who claimed that a bomb had been placed in the bank. The caller then said a man dressed in a suit would be entering the bank shortly and he was to be given $200,000 or the bomb would be detonated, according to the release.

Shortly afterward, about 10:30 a.m., an armed robber entered the bank with a handgun, disarmed a security guard and held bank employees hostage for several minutes, Rice said in an e-mail.

The release said the man who entered the bank was described by witnesses as a white male dressed in a black suit and wearing a ski mask and gloves. That man, later identified as Martin, said that he was there for the money. He was armed with a handgun and disarmed a security guard who was stationed in the lobby, according to the release.

Martin then asked the bank manager to take him to the bank vault but was told it was on a time-delayed lock and could not be opened for 15 minutes, according to the release which said Martin then waited with the bank managers and employees until the bank opened.

After the vault door opened, Martin allegedly ordered a bank employee to fill with cash two cream colored canvas bank bags that were nearby before fleeing with approximately $95,000 in cash in a burgundy colored minivan that was parked nearby. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed with Martin driving and a second person later identified as Gower in the front passenger seat, the release said.

No injuries occurred in the robbery. A witness to the robbery who was outside the bank noticed the suspicious activity and called the South Holland police department. The witness then followed the get-away vehicle -- providing both the license plate number and updates on travel to the responding officers, according to the release.

The vehicle was eventually located but attempts to conduct a traffic stop were unsuccessful and the minivan continued to flee the pursuing officers who were joined by officers from numerous surrounding police departments -- leading them on a high-speed chase which eventually ended when the minivan crashed into a Sauk Village patrol car and then careened into an unmoving motor home.

The chase ended at Route 394 and Sauk Trail in Sauk Village.

During the course of the chase, gunfire was exchanged between the occupants of the minivan and pursuing officers, the release said.

Several shots were fired during the chase by both pursuing police officers and the robbers. One police officer and one of the suspects were injured, but not seriously.

Martin and Gower were arrested at the scene of the crash after being treated for minor injuries. A Sauk Village police officer whose patrol car was involved in the crash, was treated and released at a local hospital. No other injuries were reported.
A search of the bank and the surrounding area was conducted for any explosive devices, but none were found.

If convicted, Gower and Martin face a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison.