I-Team: Anatomy of a bank robbery

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A series of recent suburban bank heists lead to an arrest Tuesday, and some surprising admissions authorities say they obtained from the man in custody.

When career criminal Eric Fulton was arrested for robbing three branches of the same north suburban bank, federal agents say he made it sound as though there was nothing to it. He needed the money and banks made it easy, like one-stop robbing.

On Tuesday night, Mr. Fulton is behind bars - a place he has found himself dozens of times during his 53 years.

Ten days ago at a Waukegan branch of NorStates Bank, a man wearing a Cubs hat walked in about 3 p.m. and handed the teller a note demanding money and warning against tripping the silent alarm. He motioned as if he had a gun in his pocket and left with several thousand dollars. There had been a similar stick-up at another NorStates Bank a few days earlier, and another on July 5.

Monday, Waukegan police searching the area spotted Eric. D. Fulton in the same van witnesses said was used as a getaway vehicle.

According to this federal bank robbery complaint filed Tuesday, Fulton robbed the NorStates Bank three times as he was in need of money and the bank made it "easy to rob." He received approximately $2,500, all of which he spent on alcohol, gambling and cocaine.

The I-Team has learned that Fulton's arrest record includes a litany of wrongdoing, from battery to bribing a witness; child abuse and false imprisonment, to the latest entry: bank robbery.

Fulton's alleged statement that banks are "easy to rob" could explain the uptick in metro Chicago bank robberies. Last year at this time there had been 69. So far this year, the number stands at 84, and most are not caught as quickly as Eric Fulton.

So for Fulton it was just as easy to get caught. He appeared Tuesday afternoon before a federal magistrate in Chicago and was ordered held until his next court appearance on Thursday. This case also points to the clarity of bank security pictures that help law enforcement to make arrests in 60 percent of all bank hold-ups nationally. According to a spokesperson for the FBI in Chicago, the clearance rate for local bank robberies here is 75%.

For more information on current law enforcement bank robbery suspects, visit http://bandittrackerchicago.com/.