A man who conducted two courteous bank robberies has been declared guilty.
Mohamed Worku, a 31-year-old resident of Chicago, entered a bank two years ago, approached a teller, and presented a note against the glass that read: “Give me the money please, thank you.” Making off with approximately $595, he spent around a hundred before being apprehended half an hour later. Last Friday, on January 19, a jury found him not guilty of the bank robbery, arguing that there were “no implicit or explicit threats of any kind,” as presented in court.
Worku’s attorney, Mary Judge, acknowledged her client’s wrongdoing but contended that it didn’t meet the definition of robbery, which typically involves theft through force or intimidation. However, on Monday afternoon, January 22, 2024, just three days after his release, Worku reportedly entered another bank and handed an employee a similarly polite note.
“Please Give me the money, I’ll pay it back soon, Banker’s Give to me in advance,” it said, according to a criminal complaint against him.
The worker gave him more than $2,000 to set him on his way, and he was again arrested half an hour later, around $200 short of what he left with, the complaint says.
This time, though, he’s set to be charged with both bank robbery and bank theft, a charge which does not require force or intimidation to be involved.
Ms Judge, who is no longer representing Worku, told the Chicago Tribune the jury made the correct decision in his last case, and that including theft charges in such cases is how “it should be done.”
