Quincy bank robber captured in Florida

The man charged in a Dec. 26 Quincy bank robbery is accused of at least nine bank robberies.

Willie B. Franklin, 37, is charged in the robbery of First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust.

Franklin is also accused of robberies in Kankakee, Wentzville, Mt. Vernon, Iowa City, Manteno, Morton and Peoria.

He was taken in to custody by federal authorities in Tampa, Fla. earlier this week. He will likely face federal charges. His bond in Adams County is set at $500,000.

?I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that were it not for the investigation performed by the Quincy Police Department, Franklin would still be at large, and there almost certainly would have been more victims,? State's Attorney Jon Barnard said in a new release.

The bank in Quincy was robbed about 4 p.m. the day after Christmas. The robber presented a note to the bank teller and fled with an undisclosed about of money.

Barnard said that he could not speak to the specifics of the case, but he's certain that clues culled from the Quincy robbery helped connect it to other bank robberies.

Franklin is no stranger to the federal criminal system, according to court documents.

In March 2005, an Illinois federal judge sentenced Franklin to 20 months in federal prison for attempted bank fraud.

In September 2009, a Kansas federal judge sentenced him to three months for being in possession or attempting to be in possession of marijuana while in prison.

By June 30, 2010, Franklin was allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house in Kansas City, Mo. with a scheduled release of Dec. 23, 2010.

On Aug, 31, 2010, Franklin fled the halfway house. Records showed that he checked out for work and never returned, according to the criminal complaint.?

Federal investigators eventually contacted Franklin by phone and he explained that ?something happened on the streets and he had to go away,? according to the complaint.

Franklin was eventually captured Sept. 7, 2010 and charged with escape.

He was sentenced to 22-months in prison. He was released from prison Nov. 30, 2012, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Franklin's supervised released from prison was transferred from Kansas City to Illinois?just 16 days before the bank robbery in Quincy.

Source: http://www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=846200

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