CHICAGO — A man and a woman have been charged in federal court with attempting to steal cash from an automated-teller machine on the South Side of Chicago last week.
In the early morning hours of June 2, 2020, PARIS MICKLE and TAHKISHA HODGE, along with other unidentified individuals, forcibly removed the ATM from its enclosure in the drive-through area of a PNC Bank branch in the 8700 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The pair then unsuccessfully attempted to break into the machine, with Mickle using a blowtorch and Hodge at one point driving a vehicle with a rear chain connected to the ATM, the complaint states. Chicago Police officers arrived at the scene and arrested Mickle and Hodge after brief chases, the complaint states.
The complaint charges Mickle, 29, of Madison, Wisc., and Hodge, 35, of Chicago, with one count of conspiracy to commit bank theft. An initial federal court appearance for Hodge was held on June 10, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman, while an initial federal court appearance for Mickle has not yet been scheduled.
The complaint and arrests were 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 office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in bringing these charges. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Prashant Kolluri.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. sentencing guidelines.
