A federal judge sentenced a Zion man to over 14 years in prison for committing seven bank robberies in Waukegan and other Chicago suburbs while brandishing a large knife.
Haris Matchalovas, 41, of Zion, was initially charged in November 2022 with one count of bank robbery in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
He was later charged in March 2023 by indictment with seven total counts of bank robbery, court records show.
Court documents said Matchalovas committed seven bank robberies in the Chicagoland area from November 2021 to August 2022, along with several retail thefts.
The robberies happened at BMO Harris Bank in Waukegan on November 24, 2021; Parkway Bank in Chicago on February 18, 2022; Huntington Bank in Skokie on March 3, 2022; Fifth Third Bank in Chicago on April 22, 2022; Huntington Bank in Chicago on May 10, 2022; Huntington Bank in Chicago on June 11, 2022; and Huntington Bank in Evanston on August 3, 2022.
A total of $35,809 in cash was stolen during the seven robberies.
The bank robberies generally followed the same pattern, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent.
The affidavit said Matchalovas would enter the banks wearing a surgical or cloth face mask while carrying a backpack.
He wore distinctive gray gloves with dark, latex-coated palms and white writing on the back of the palms.
Matchalovas would approach the teller counter or podium and demand that the tellers at the counter give him the money in their teller drawers, the affidavit said.
In five of the seven robberies, Matchalovas brandished a kitchen or chef’s knife, the affidavit said.
Matchalovas used a silver Oldsmobile Aurora, a black Cadillac SRX or a red Cadillac SRX in six of the robberies.
Each of the vehicles were registered to Matchalovas’ home where he lives in Zion with his parents.
Law enforcement stopped Matchalovas on December 2, 2021, in Waukegan and September 9, 2022, in Gurnee. He was driving one of the three vehicles both times.
Cell phone data placed Matchalovas within a mile of the seven bank robberies when they occurred, court documents said.
During one of the robberies, Matchalovas wore a distinctive gray t-shirt with the word “Champion” written all over it — the same shirt in his Illinois driver’s license photo.
Court documents show the man’s former fiance also aided law enforcement in identifying him in the investigation.
Just 40 minutes after the August 3, 2022, bank robbery, Matchalovas drove to the Costco in Mettawa driving the red Cadillac SRX and committed a retail theft, the affidavit said.
A distinctive tattoo was seen on his right forearm in Costco surveillance images and he was wearing similar clothes from the robbery.
During the Waukegan bank robbery on November 24, 2021, the teller became scared and froze while starting to shake.
The affidavit said Matchalovas pulled a chef’s knife, which was approximately eight inches long, out of his sleeve and stated, “Hurry up so no one gets hurt.”
In another bank robbery, Matchalovas threatened to “stab the s–t” out of the bank teller while pointing his large kitchen knife at her, court documents said.
A federal jury in November convicted Matchalovas on all seven counts and a sentencing hearing was held on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin sentenced Matchalovas to 170 months — just over 14 years — in federal prison.
The judge denied a motion filed by Matchalovas for a new trial or acquittal of the conviction.
Prosecutors, who said Matchalovas has a lengthy criminal history, had sought a 188-month prison sentence.
Matchalovas was ordered to pay $35,809 in restitution and be on supervised release for three years following his prison sentence.