Plainfield man arrested for Shorewood bank robbery

Shorewood police arrested a Plainfield man for the robbery from Shorewood Bank and Trust, 931 Brook Forest Ave.

James A. Houge, 52, of Plainfield was arrested after an off-duty Joliet police officer recognized Houge from a flyer Shorewood investigators distributed, Shorewood police said.

Houge was eating at a McDonald’s on Route 59 when the officer recognized him, Shorewood police said.

The officer then contacted the Joliet Police Department and remained on the scene until both Joliet police and Shorewood police arrived and arrested the man shortly afterward, Shorewood police said.

Houge also had a backpack, clothing and an electric bicycle, which matched the ones captured on the camera’s surrounding the area near the bank, Shorewood police said.

Shorewood police had said in an earlier news release that they received a “hang-up call” on the 911 line just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police were informed a bank robbery occurred after a dispatcher called the number back.

The robber had “jumped over the counter, where he ordered the teller to open the drawer and remove the money,” the release said. He did not display a weapon and was last seen “walking southbound from the bank,” the release said.

During their investigation of the robbery, Shorewood police detectives and the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force gathered additional information and obtained a search warrant for Houge’s home.

Houge was booked into the Will County Jail. He will be held at the jail, pending a federal indictment, Shorewood police said.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against Hogue for robbery and robbery of a financial institution, Shorewood police said.