A Bartlett woman accused of robbing three banks with a Bartlett man in 2018 refused to testify against him this week. Alexis Handelman is still facing charges. The judge who ordered her to testify against James D. Williams of Bartlett ruled that nothing she says on the witness stand in his case can be used against her in hers. Handelman still refused. The two are charged with robbing Old Second Bank in Ottawa, a bank in Gurnee, and another bank in Aurora in May 2018.
Williams’s wife, Jessica Sweeney Williams, had been charged with giving him guns and ammunition around the time of the robberies. She pleaded guilty last year to providing weapons to a felon, admitting she let him use a gun at a shooting range. Charges of buying guns and bullets for him were dropped. She’s to report to prison this summer for a two-year term.
The jury trial for Williams began in a federal courtroom in Chicago last week. No trial is scheduled for Handelman.
A police car outside Old Second Bank after the robbery on May 11, 2018 – WCMY file photo