Markham Man Charged in 2011 'Nun on the Run' Palos Heights Bank Robbery

A Markham man has been charged in connection with "Nun on the Run" robbery of a Palos Heights bank branch more than a year after a second defendant was arrested.

Lyndon G. Wesley, 28, of Markham, was arrested Wednesday. He and codefendant Navahcia Edwards, 25, of Chicago, are charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery and bank robbery. Edwards was arrested in June 2011.

Federal prosecutors allege the pair donned nun costumes and robbed the TCF bank branch at 6410 West 127th St. on May 29, 2011.

A grand jury returned the two-count indictment against Wesley on Tuesday. He is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason in federal court at 2:30 p.m.

Edwards already has pleaded guilty to the robbery. His trial in a U.S. District court is scheduled for Nov. 5.

Read: Dropped Like a Bad Habit: Cops Say They've Caught One of the Nun-Masked Bank Bandits

Video footage of the robbery showed two people dressed in nun habits and wearing masks of elderly women. Authorities have dubbed the incident the "Nun on the Run" robbery based on witness descriptions of the costumes.

The two "nuns" brandished handguns, forced two bank employees to open the vault and made off with about $120,000 in a gym bag. Employees were restrained with zip ties before the robbers fled.

Edwards worked as a teller at the bank from July to November of 2010, according to the federal indictment. The indictment alleges that about a month before the robbery, Wesley opened a safe deposit box at the branch and that, between April 25 and May 30, 2011, the two planned the robbery.

In 2011, Palos Heights police told Palos Patch the investigation focused on Edwards, Wesley's girlfriend, almost immediately. Physical descriptions given by witnesses of the masked bank robbers closely matched Wesley and Edwards, police said.

Like Oak Forest Patch on Facebook!

Bank robbery carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A conspiracy conviction comes with a maximum prison term of five years. Each count also carries a fine of $250,000.

The indictment seeks a $120,200 forfeiture.

The Palos Heights Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police aided in the investigation.

—By Nick Swedberg, Editor of Palos Patch

Read more:

• Nun-Mask Robbery Marks Fifth Hold Up In 5 Years for TCF Bank