Chicago, IL – A Des Plaines man was convicted this week in federal court for robbing a First Midwest Bank in Round Lake, Illinois, in 2021.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Francisco Martinez, 32, was found guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago of one count of bank robbery. The jury determined that Martinez entered the bank on Dec. 20, 2021, and handed a teller a note demanding $40,000 in under 30 seconds while lifting his shirt to display what appeared to be a firearm tucked into his waistband.
Martinez allegedly threatened a customer and made an apparent attempt to take her with him, but ultimately fled after the teller handed over the money. Law enforcement later confirmed he was already on court-supervised release at the time, following a previous bank robbery conviction.
He was arrested in June 2022 and has remained in custody since. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger scheduled sentencing for Aug. 29, 2025. Martinez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The conviction was announced by U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros and Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. Local agencies including the Round Lake Beach Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office contributed to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jimmy Arce, Adam L. Rosenbloom, and Caitlin S. Walgamuth represented the government in the case.
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