FBI bank robbery suspect arrested in Clarkson

Acting on information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, police arrested a Clarkson resident believed to be a bank robber known as the Elmer Fudd Bandit.

Todd Berkley, 39, was arrested around 2 a.m. Friday in an apartment on Renfrow Street in Clarkson. Grayson County Sheriff Rick Clemons and Deputies Buck Meredith and Adam Cottrell approached the apartment from the front while Kentucky State Police Troopers Brad Riley, Jason Drain and Sgt. Kevin Bertram waited at the back.

“Louisville Metro Police Department contacted us after a Clarkson resident saw him (Berkley) on the news,” Clemons said. The resident contacted LMPD through its tipline.

Berkley was wanted on an Illinois warrant and was charged locally with first-degree bank robbery, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance heroin.

Louisville Metro Detective Jim Clark and Sgt. Eric Black visited Grayson County on Friday morning to question Berkley about a Nov. 1 bank robbery of U.S. Bank inside Kroger in West Buechel, south of Watterson Expressway.

Lt. Jennifer Coe, commander of LMPDs robbery-financial crimes unit, said a man wearing a plaid shirt gave a note to a bank clerk and indicated he had a handgun. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken.

“He will be charged on one count of bank robbery in Louisville and five counts of bank robbery in Illinois,” Coe said.

FBI visited Grayson County last week to question Berkley regarding five bank robberies on the northwest side of Chicago. According to media outlets in Chicago, four TFC Banks and one Charter One bank were robbed between Oct. 13 and Oct. 30.

FBI dubbed the robber the “Elmer Fudd Bandit” due to the plaid shirt he wore during the robberies. He is listed on the FBI’s bandittrackerchicago.comwebsite and FBI agents showed local officers a poster with a photo on it.

A reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the bandit. According to FBI Chicago’s media relations department, the reward could go to the person who tipped police in the arrest.

“We knew we were dealing with a bank robber,” Clemons said. “We didn’t know he was hunted by the FBI.”

During the arrest, Grayson County Sheriff’s Department confiscated a “substantial” amount of heroin in bindles, or small packets of the drug, which led to the possession charges. No gun was discovered at the apartment, Clemons said.

Berkley is lodged in Grayson County Detention Center along with Tracy Lee Philips, 35, who police described as his girlfriend. According to Clemons, Phillips was charged with possession or illegal amount of a controlled substance and first-degree possession of a controlled substance. Her bond was set at $500,000.

Charges of possession of a controlled substance can earn a sentence of up to three years in jail, according to Kentucky Revised Statute. A conviction for first-degree bank robbery can result in a sentence of 10 years or more.

- DeAnna Lasley, Landmark News Service