URBANA, Ill. The third of three suspects in the June 2009 armed robbery at Shapiro Developmental Center Employees CU in Kankakee was convicted today in the $276,010 hold-up, one of the biggest credit union robberies in recent years.
Brian Williams, also known as “Bushwick,” was one of two armed assailants who entered the credit union that morning and rifled all six teller stations and the cash vault, leaving only coins. His sentencing is set for Aug. 28.
Frank Black, the other armed gunman in the heist, was sentenced in 2011 to 70 months in prison. James Williams, a relative of Brian Williams, is awaiting his sentencing for his role driving the getaway car. James Williams pleaded guilty in an Indiana federal court for not only his role in the Kankakee armed robbery, but also another hold-up in Kentland, Ind.
Authorities traced the getaway car by a GPS tracking device they had attached to the vehicle prior to the heist.
The suspects went to Black’s grandmother’s house immediately after the hold-up and dumped a bag of money on the bed, doling out between $1,000 to $3,000 to each of the individuals in the house at the time, according to court records. The robbers then spent tens of thousands of the stolen credit union cash on cars in the days after the hold-up.
Brian Williams was arrested after a three-year investigation by the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force. The task force includes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and investigators from the Kankakee Police Department working with the Kankakee County State's Attorney's Office and the Central District of Illinois' U.S. Attorney's Office.
