The alleged leader of a bank robbery crew killed in a shootout on the West Side last week was tracked down in a weekslong manhunt powered by surveillance cameras, tracking devices and cellphone monitoring.
Abdulhafedh Abdulhafedh, 25, was behind the wheel of a black Cadillac Escalade on May 28 when FBI agents boxed in the SUV on West Lexington Street, according to court records and officials.
What happened next was captured in part on a resident’s cellphone video. Authorities say Abdulhafedh fired at agents through the roof of the Escalade. Agents returned fire, killing him.
The shootout capped an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse that unfolded after a series of armed bank robberies investigators linked to a crew that called itself the “100K Gang.”
Federal authorities say Abdulhafedh was the “mastermind” the group, which is accused of stealing more than $201,000 during an armed robbery of a BMO Harris branch in St. Charles on April 21. An FBI affidavit alleges Abdulhafedh was also tied to five other BMO bank robberies across the Chicago area.
The investigation that led agents to Abdulhafedh relied on a sophisticated web of technology — the same type of electronic sleuthing federal authorities used to track members of the South Side gang later convicted in the 2020 slaying of Chicago rapper FBG Duck.
The trail began almost immediately after the St. Charles robbery.
Three masked robbers fled the bank in a Ford Fusion carrying cash stuffed into black plastic bags. Hidden among the money was an electronic tracking device, allowing St. Charles police to follow the getaway car in real time.
But the robbers appeared ready for that possibility.
The Ford was found abandoned and the tracking device had been tossed into the Fox River.
Even so, investigators caught a break.
A license plate reader mounted on a bridge over the Fox River captured an image of a Volkswagen SUV crossing moments later. The photo appeared to show someone extending an arm out the window — seemingly discarding the tracking device into the water below.
The Volkswagen’s license plate led investigators to a residence on Chicago’s West Side, according to court records.
A Cook County sheriff’s helicopter soon located the SUV parked in the Austin neighborhood.
Then came another clue.
Chicago police surveillance cameras recorded three men climbing out of the Volkswagen and entering an apartment building while carrying black trash bags, investigators said.
Federal agents began watching the building and soon spotted the registered owner of the Volkswagen — identified in court records only as “Individual A” — leaving with several others in a Toyota SUV.
Agents and Chicago police officers stopped the vehicle.
The occupants told investigators they were headed out of town, according to the affidavit. During the stop, agents found $32,000 in cash inside a backpack.
Court records don’t indicate whether anyone was arrested during the stop or whether authorities seized the money.
The investigation intensified weeks later when a Drug Enforcement Administration informant identified one of the robbery crew’s alleged members as 18-year-old Dayvon Walton, according to the affidavit.
The informant told investigators the group was planning another bank robbery.
On May 19, the informant met Walton for breakfast to discuss plans for the next heist, authorities said.
The FBI secretly installed tracking devices in rental vehicles obtained through the informant for the planned robbery. But the crew never carried it out.
Federal agents then secured a court order allowing them to monitor the phones of Walton and Abdulhafedh.
At the time, Abdulhafedh had been out of prison for a few months after serving a four-year sentence for a 2021 attempted robbery of a BMO bank branch in New Lenox in Will County. He had been released on parole in January.
The electronic surveillance soon paid off.
On May 28, agents spotted Abdulhafedh leaving a house and getting into the Escalade. Investigators believed Walton was also inside.
Armed with a parole warrant, agents moved in.
According to the FBI, Abdulhafedh refused orders to exit the SUV after agents stopped it.
Authorities deployed smoke bombs into the vehicle.
Moments later, gunfire erupted.
Officials say Abdulhafedh opened fire on the agents, who returned fire and killed him.
In the aftermath, Walton spoke with agents and admitted taking part in both an attempted bank robbery in Niles on April 6 and the successful St. Charles heist, according to the FBI. Walton has since been charged in connection with the St. Charles robbery.
His attorney, Jonathan Feldman, said in a court filing Monday that he thinks the FBI blocked him from visiting with Walton on May 28, the day his client was arrested.
“It is believed officials with the FBI failed to inform 18-year-old Dayvon Walton that counsel had been retained by his family to represent Dayvon, failed to inform him that counsel was readily available to speak with and meet with Dayvon and failed to determine if Dayvon wished to accept counsel’s representation,” Feldman wrote.
Feldman is asking a judge to release his client on electronic monitoring. He said Walton had attended Olive-Harvey College and worked at an auto-repair store.