CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — A federal judge has sentenced Jawad H. Hakeem, 51, of Waukegan, Illinois, to 19 years in federal prison for committing two armed bank robberies in downtown Chicago within a six-day period in March 2023.
Hakeem pleaded guilty earlier in 2026 to federal bank robbery and firearm charges. On August 26, 2026, U.S. District Judge John F. Kness imposed the 19-year sentence.
According to court records, the first robbery occurred on March 3, 2023, at a Chase Bank branch in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Six days later, on March 9, Hakeem committed a second armed robbery at a Fifth Third Bank branch in Chicago’s Loop.
In both robberies, Hakeem brandished a handgun at bank tellers and customers.
The second robbery escalated into a gunfight. Hakeem fired nine rounds at a security guard inside the bank. The guard returned fire. Despite the exchange of gunfire, no one was wounded.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sushma Raju wrote in the government’s sentencing memorandum that Hakeem had created extraordinarily dangerous situations and that it was “pure chance” no one was seriously injured or killed.
Hakeem was arrested on March 13, 2023, in Waukegan, four days after the second robbery. He remained in law-enforcement custody from the time of his arrest through the federal proceedings.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ryan Whalen, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the Chicago Police Department and the Waukegan Police Department.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sushma Raju for the Northern District of Illinois.
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