By MIKE ROBINSON
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — A man who escaped jail by wearing a stolen guard’s uniform was convicted Monday of robbing five banks in downtown Chicago, including one heist he pulled the day of his breakout wearing the lifted uniform.
The jury found Randy Rencher, 39, guilty of multiple counts after two hours of deliberation. He faces 32 years to life in federal prison when he is sentenced Sept. 26.
At trial, victimized bank tellers identified Rencher as the robber and witnesses said he confessed. His picture was captured on bank video, and police found a money wrapper from one of the robberies in his room, along with $6,000.
Defense attorney Robert Clarke had urged jurors to ignore such matters.
“Although facts are stubborn things, they often have a deeper significance,” Clarke told the jury in his opening statement. “There are deeper human mysteries than facts.”
Clarke maintained that Rencher obtained the $6,000 by selling drugs. Rencher was arrested with cocaine in his room and was convicted of drug possession, but he was not charged with selling drugs.
Rencher escaped from the Cook County Jail in June 2005. He was on the lam until surrendering that November and committed three of the five bank robberies during that time.
The sheriff’s office said Rencher’s job of delivering meals to other inmates made it easier for him to sneak into a locker room to steal the uniform. Authorities said he could not have held that job if the most recent charges against him had been entered in the jail’s computer.
At trial, Rencher appeared in the courtroom with leg irons chained to two massive weights, which were concealed from the jury by a black cloth below the defense table.