Machesney Park Man Pleads Guilty to Robberies of Bank and Convenience Store

ROCKFORD — A Machesney Park man pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., to one count of armed robbery, one count of robbery, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

DAVID M. BANEY, 34, admitted in a written plea agreement that on Jan. 11, 2018, he walked into Chase Bank, 7997 N. Alpine Rd. in Loves Park, wearing a mask.  Baney approached a teller who was behind the teller stations and demanded money from two tellers.  During the robbery, Baney carried a gun and pointed it at a bank employee and a bank customer.  Baney obtained $24,402 from Chase Bank during the robbery.

Baney also admitted that on the same day he possessed an object that appeared to be a firearm when he entered Kelley’s Market/Mobil gas station, 8200 N. Second St. in Machesney Park, and ordered an employee to give him cash from the registers and safe.  The employee handed Baney $170 in cash but could not access the safe, and Baney left the store with the money.

Sentencing is set for April 6, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. Baney faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each of the robbery charges, and a maximum of life in prison - with a statutory minimum of seven years - for the firearm charge, which must be consecutive to any other sentence imposed.  Each charge also carries a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution.  The actual sentence will be determined by the U.S. District Court, guided by the Sentencing Guidelines.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Gary Caruana, Winnebago County Sheriff; Dan O’Shea, Chief of the Rockford Police Department; and Chuck Lynde, Chief of the Loves Park Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-led Rockford Area Violent Gang Task Force, consisting of law enforcement officers and agents from the FBI, Rockford Police Department, Loves Park Police Department, and Freeport Police Department.  Officers from the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department participated in the investigation.