Loves Park Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Federal Prison for the Robbery of Associated Bank in Loves Park

ROCKFORD—A Loves Park, Illinois man was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison for the robbery of Associated Bank, 6213 North 2nd Street, in Loves Park, Illinois, on June 24, 2011. ROBERT J. ALAR, 51, of Loves Park, who was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison.

On Oct. 14, 2011, Alar pleaded guilty to the robbery, admitting that he entered Associated Bank mid-afternoon on June 24, 2011, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his head, tan work boots, and sun glasses with his hands in his pockets. According to the written plea agreement, Alar approached a teller at the counter and demanded all the money in the teller’s drawer. Alar then pulled out what appeared to be a gun from his right shirt sleeve with only the barrel sticking out from the sleeve. The gun was actually two four-inch pipes wrapped together with tape. The teller removed $3,283 from the drawer and gave it to the Alar, who grabbed the cash, put it in his pockets and left the bank fleeing on a bicycle. The money stolen from the bank was recovered when Alar was arrested the same day by the Loves Park Police Department.

The sentencing was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James R. Puckett, Chief of the Loves Park Police Department.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Paccagnini.