Champaign County Chaos: Man Charged with Bank Heist and High-Speed Chase

Share and Follow

A 32-year-old man is now facing the possibility of up to 15 years in prison after being apprehended on Monday for a bank heist followed by a high-speed chase in Champaign County, Illinois.

During a court session on Wednesday at the Champaign County Courthouse, Judge Brett M. Olmstead oversaw the arraignment of Caleb Estabrook, where the charges against him were officially presented.

One count of financial institution robbery — threat of force, a Class 1 felony
- Punishable by 4-15 years in prison
One count of robbery, a Class 2 felony
- Punishable by 3-7 years in prison, 12 months of parole, a fine of $25,000 or restitution of financial loss and probation or conditional discharge of 48 months (maximum)
One count of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, traveling at least 21 miles per hour over the speed limit, a Class 4 felony
- Punishable by 1-3 years in prison, six months of parole, a fine of $25,000 or restitution and 30 months of probation

The charges relate to an incident on Monday afternoon at Longview Bank in Sidney. Assistant State’s Attorney Tobias Ortega recounted how bank staff described a tall, slender man who approached them with a note. This note, as previously reported, demanded cash and assured no harm would come if they cooperated.

According to police records, the suspect, later identified by Ortega as Estabrook, kept his hands concealed in his pockets throughout the robbery. A female employee proceeded to empty the cash drawer. The Champaign County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Estabrook fled the scene with $5,588 in cash, alongside some counterfeit bills inadvertently included by the teller.

Ortega said Estabrook then entered a black SUV and fled the bank. Deputies responding to this incident were able to track the vehicle’s license plate through surveillance video, and they conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle on Duncan Road in Champaign.

Once the vehicle was pulled over, a deputy left his squad car to approach the SUV. Oretega said that as they were approaching, Estabrook sped off, drove around another vehicle in his path and drove through a stop sign.

Deputies reported the SUV was traveling roughly 60 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone.

After “making contact” with a Champaign County patrol vehicle, the SUV rolled over and struck a nearby house. In the car with Estabrook was his pregnant girlfriend, who was hurt in the crash and needed medical treatment following the crash.

Ortega said that upon interacting with Estabrook following the crash, deputies observed that his clothes matched the description given to them by the bank employees, and they discovered a notepad in the SUV. It was of the same paper that was used to write the note to the bank employees.

A large amount of currency was recovered from the vehicle, which Ortega said Estabrook admitted he had been driving all day. He also said he fled deputies because his girlfriend had a warrant out for her arrest.

Estabrook claimed that the money found in the vehicle came from his friends, and he also said there was likely cocaine and fentanyl in the SUV. The Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office provided the following statement regarding the reports of possible drugs in the SUV Estabrook was driving:

It is not unusual for some charges relating to contraband to wait until after laboratory testing and formal weighing verifies their identity and quantity, assuming those substances can be confidently attributed to an individual. This is a recent case, obviously, so there could potentially still be additional charges depending on the ongoing investigation.

Estabrook pleaded not guilty to the charges he is facing and he demanded a trial by jury. The state is asking for pretrial detention, which will be decided after Thanksgiving weekend. For the time being, Estabrook will be detained in the Champaign County Jail.

A pretrial detention hearing will be held on Monday, and the first pretrial conference will occur on Jan. 6.