Judge orders detention for suspect in Harvard High School jewelry robbery

McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb ordered Solomon Bankhead detained pending trial on Tuesday after he was indicted for armed robbery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Bankhead, 26, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, is accused of luring a jewelry seller and his mother to Harvard High School in Illinois, robbing them at gunpoint, and fleeing in a vehicle that reached speeds exceeding 130 miles per hour. The decision follows a detention hearing where the judge determined that electronic monitoring was insufficient to mitigate the risk he poses.

The incident occurred around 1:42 a.m. on December 11, when the Harvard Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery near Route 14 and North Garfield Street. Prosecutors allege that Bankhead, along with Dominick Black, 25, and Blair Stiles II, 20, both of Kenosha, arranged a meeting with a 32-year-old Janesville man selling jewelry on Facebook Marketplace. The three suspects traveled to the school parking lot together, with Bankhead waiting behind a dumpster while the others set up the transaction.

When the victim arrived with his 49-year-old mother, Bankhead emerged from hiding wearing dark clothing and a black mask. He pointed a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P FPC 9mm carbine rifle, equipped with a red dot scope, at the victim and demanded he empty his pockets. Bankhead searched the man's pockets while one of the other men stole the jewelry. The group fled northbound into Wisconsin, changing the vehicle's license plates during the escape.

Deputies from the Walworth County Sheriff's Office located the vehicle but lost sight of it after it crossed into Wisconsin. The pursuit continued into Racine County, where spike strips deployed with help from the Racine County Sheriff's Office disabled the vehicle. All three men were taken into custody without incident, and the rifle and stolen jewelry were recovered from the car. Bankhead was found in the back seat near the trunk, where he had placed the weapon.

Bankhead pleaded guilty in Walworth County on November 27 to two counts of felony bail jumping and received a sentence of time served. Judge Kristine Drettwan ordered him extradited to Illinois, and he was booked into the McHenry County Jail on Saturday. He scored a 12 on his pretrial risk assessment, the highest possible level. Bankhead has prior convictions for domestic abuse, criminal trespass, and obstructing an officer, and is on deferred conditions in Wisconsin for child neglect.

Black is the friend who purchased the AR-15 rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used in the fatal shootings in Kenosha in 2020. Black testified at Rittenhouse's trial that the 17-year-old offered to pay for the gun, which he bought at a store in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Black was acquitted of homicide-related charges in 2022 but pleaded no contest to a county ordinance violation. He was later sentenced to 18 months in prison for fleeing an officer in a separate case.

Stiles pleaded guilty in April to fleeing an officer and theft in Walworth County and is scheduled for sentencing on November 10. Black is scheduled to be arraigned on November 20, while Bankhead will appear in court on December 4 to set a trial date. McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese stated that the calculated use of a firearm and the reckless pursuit demonstrated a disregard for human life. The office advised residents to use designated safe exchange locations for online transactions, such as the Harvard Police Department station.