2009 Jail Escapee Found Guilty On All Counts

Robert Maday escaped from guards in 2009, became subject of 27-hour suburban manhunt

A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a man who escaped from custody in 2009 and went on a 27-hour suburban crime spree.

Robert Maday was found guilty of overpowering two Cook County guards in 2009, stealing two cars and robbing a bank he'd robbed a year earlier. He was later re-captured after he crashed a gray Volkswagen Jetta he'd allegedly stolen into a Jeep and then a utility pole.

Jurors convicted him on all five counts of escape, using a gun during the escape, bank robbery, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. They deliberated for just under three hours before coming to a decision.

His attorney didn't dispute the charges but argued that police can't prove Maday used guns during the bank heist.

Maday appeared very distressed, uttering the words "Oh God," when the guilty verdicts came down.

"I think any stress he may have shown today coming out would be natural in light of the fact of the weight of a verdict may have on the rest of his life," attorney Anthony Sassan said. "He was disappointed in the verdict on Count 4 [armed robbery], as both he and I felt that he had a pretty good chance of being acquitted on that count."

"I think it's most important for the victims in this process that this is all over," "It's been a long ordeal over the past three-and-a-half years."

Maday faces a maximum of life in prison. His sentencing date was set for April 17.

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