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He had vowed never to see the inside of another prison. Instead, on Friday afternoon, with a crowd of bystanders cheering and clapping -- and Maday grousing about a sore back -- the career criminal was captured and hauled away in handcuffs, on a stretcher, ending a massive manhunt for the 39-year-old fugitive."I couldn't be happier," said Bloomingdale Police Chief \Tim Goergen, shortly after the take-down at an intersection in suburban West Chicago. "I'm glad it's over."A day after Maday -- who began his criminal career 22 years ago robbing a pizza delivery man -- overpowered two Cook County investigators taking him to court in Rolling Meadows, the search ended without a single shot fired.Before it was over, though, Maday had stolen the county investigators' guns and one investigator's pants and shoes; hijacked two cars; robbed a bank; led police on a car chase, and crashed into a traffic light, authorities said.Nicole Bratko, a 29-year-old house cleaner, was sitting in a car stopped at James Avenue and State Route 59 when Maday's audacious run came to an end. Bratko saw two police squad cars, lights flashing, speeding toward her from one direction and, through her rear window, Maday's stolen silver Volkswagen Jetta zooming toward her from the other.She watched the Jetta clip the rear of a black Jeep Wrangler near the intersection and slam into a traffic light."The pole flipped up like a toy," said Bratko, who was still shaking 20 minutes after the crash. "Then [the Jetta] went through some bushes. Then all of a sudden, the cops came with their guns drawn."Bratko said the scene was like something out of a movie.Maday had the two stolen handguns, one tucked into his waistband, investigators said. But moments after the Jetta's air bag deployed, a dazed Maday found himself surrounded by police pointing assault rifles at his head. Maday simply had no time to react, said John O'Malley, chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service in Chicago.Maday was taken by ambulance to Central DuPage Hospital and later released into federal custody, a hospital spokeswoman said. Guillermo Gonzalez of West Chicago, the driver of the black Jeep Wrangler, was hospitalized with back pain and released.Gonzalez, 54, described seeing the speeding Jetta moments before it clipped his car."He was flying," Gonzalez said. "He didn't slow down at all. He was either thinking about escaping or trying to kill himself."A dozen or so police agencies were part of the hunt for Maday, but it was a West Chicago cop who spotted the stolen Jetta about noon Friday, as Maday drove north on Route 59. Police were keeping an eye out for the escaped con after getting a report a few minutes earlier that he might be heading their way."He was watching the road, he was looking for him," West Chicago Deputy Chief Bruce Malkin said of the officer who gave chase.The officer called for backup, then curbed the Jetta, which pulled into a Taco Bell parking lot, Malkin said. As the officer stepped out of his car with his weapon drawn, the Jetta pulled back onto Route 59 and sped off, Malkin said.At least three West Chicago Police squad cars chased the Jetta for about a mile, until Maday crashed into a tree in the front yard of a home."This was the culmination of a long two days," said Kim Widup, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. "It's a good ending."It started Thursday morning when a handcuffed Maday reached between the bucket seats of the car taking him to court and grabbed the gun of the driver, a state's attorney's investigator. Maday pointed it at the other investigator in the car and demanded his gun as well, authorities said.He forced the driver to exit the tollway in Arlington Heights. Then he got of out the car and commandeered an SUV. He then spent the day eluding dozens of officers sent to find him.He resurfaced Friday morning in Hoffman Estates, where he approached a woman as she pulled into a parking lot in front of her office building, investigators said. He showed her a gun and took
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Robert Maday robs a bank in Bloomingdale after escapeby DailyHeraldClips1,413 views
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