Alleged getaway driver charged in suburban bank robbery that led to police chase, shootout in Old Irving Park

Liz Nagy Image
Friday, November 22, 2019
Alleged getaway driver charged in suburban bank robbery that led to police chase, fatal shootout in Old Irving Park
A suspected getaway driver is charged in a north suburban bank robbery earlier this week that led to a police chase and an exchange of gunfire.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago man is accused of driving a getaway car in a north suburban bank robbery earlier this week that led to a police chase and an exchange of gunfire that injured an officer and an innocent bystander.

Maurice Murphy, 32, is one of two suspects police say they were able to catch after a heist at a Des Plaines bank Tuesday afternoon. Murphy is charged with one count of bank robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Prosecutors accused Murphy of being behind the wheel waiting in the getaway car when police say his accomplice Christopher Willis was inside the Bank of America demanding money at gunpoint. Murphy was arrested in Des Plaines shortly after the robbery, but police say Willis escaped and stole a car.

RELATED: Chicago cop shot in head during 'gun battle' with bank robbery suspect on NW Side; boy, 15, also shot

Police said Willis, 32, carjacked a woman and then led authorities on a chase into Chicago's Old Irving Park neighborhood. FBI agents and Des Plaines police chased Willis, alerting Chicago police officers who also joined the pursuit.

Christopher Willis mugshot, date unknown
Courtesy of the Chicago Police Department

Upon seeing Chicago police, officers said Willis opened fire, hitting a 46-year-old officer in the head. The officer remains in serious condition but is expected to make a full recovery.

A Des Plaines officer fatally shot Willis. He died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

RELATED: Mother of robbery suspect shot by police in Old Irving Park sends prayers to victims

A stray bullet also struck a 15-year-old Lane Tech High School student who was standing inside a nearby music store. The teen remains hospitalized but he's expected to recover.

WATCH: Lane Tech student injured in 'gun battle'

The 15-year-old innocent bystander who was shot and seriously injured Tuesday night in Old Irving Park is a student intern at a music store, and a student at Lane Tech.

But police and prosecutors said Murphy never made it to Chciago.

According to the criminal complaint filed in federal court Friday, "a witness and some friends noticed Murphy walking in the 1900 block of South Chestnut Street and tackled him near an alley once they heard emergency sirens."

Murphy then allegedly told authorities, "You got me."

Prosecutors said Murphy confessed he helped with the bank robbery because he said he needed the money.

Murphy's next court date is scheduled for Monday.