Man armed with pipe robs Elmwood Community Bank
4-21-21 1:30 p.m. update: Suspect in Custody – apprehended in Springfield, Ill.
By JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post
ELMWOOD – An older white male brandishing a red pipe robbed the Elmwood Community Bank on Tuesday at approximately 10:41 a.m. and fled north on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police say the man entered a stolen white Toyota Prius in the 100 block of East Cypress Street north of the bank, which is located on the corner of North Magnolia and Evergreen streets. Footage from a homeowner’s doorbell camera on East Cypress Street helped identify the vehicle.
At the time of the robbery, three employees were in Elmwood Community Bank, which was later closed for the day. There were no injuries reported.
Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell said that John W. Beck, 54, is a person of interest in the case. The thief in Elmwood was described as standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 160 pounds, wearing a camouflage ball cap, blue jeans and a face mask.
Beck fits that size description and was reportedly released on parole last August after serving a portion of a 25-year sentence for a 2008 bank robbery in Champaign County.
Beck is also a suspect in the April 9 robbery of the Odell Bank in Livingston County and in an April 19 hold-up at a Paxton convenience store.
Beck, who is considered very dangerous and has an extensive criminal history, is believed to be driving a stolen white Toyota Prius, registration 436976.
Beck has also been arrested in Piatt, Macon, Sangamon and Adams counties. In Livingston County, Beck had been convicted of five counts of forgery/make/alter document in 1993. At that time, he was also charged with three counts of forgery/make/alter document and one count of aggravated robbery in Sangamon County, two counts of aggravated robbery in Macon County and in Piatt County, one count of theft of $300-$10,000, aggravated battery/great bodily harm and theft of $10,000-$100,000.
Beck reportedly has a tattoo of two roses on his upper left arm, a tribal tattoo on his upper right arm, a scar on his right arm and a scar on the palm of his left hand.
In addition to Elmwood police, officers responded from Farmington, Yates City, Knox County and from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department. Morton Community Bank security staff were also on the scene.
Anyone with information about the robbery should call Lt. Corpus at (309) 258-7160 or Peoria County Dispatch at (309) 672-6011.
Elmwood schools were put on a “soft” lockdown for nearly an hour following reports of the robbery, meaning no students or staff could leave or enter the school.
