A man has been charged with robbing a Citibank branch in downtown Chicago two times in two weeks after losing his job at Walmart.

Jason Paniagua has been charged with two counts of bank robbery.

According to the charges, Paniagua robbed the Citibank branch at 69 W. Washington St., across the street from Daley Plaza in the Loop, on March 27 and April 8.

In the first robbery, Paniagua walked into the Citibank around 12:40 p.m., walked up to a teller and demanded $100 and $50 bills, while tapping his hand on the counter, saying, "Give me everything in the top drawer, you've got three seconds to give me everything."

Fearing Paniagua might be holding a gun, the teller tried to reach for the lower cash drawer containing larger bills, because the top drawer did not have as much money, but Paniagua told the teller to stop, and the teller gave him the $340 in cash available in the top drawer.

After walking out of the bank, Paniagua went inside a nearby synagogue, changed his clothes, and went to a nearby hotel, where a hotel doorman flagged down a cab for him, and the cab drove him to a liquor store in south suburban Harvey, where he made a purchase with cash, and then took the cab to the Starlite Motel in South Holland.

The next day, the owner of the liquor store called the FBI to report seeing the man wanted for robbing the Citibank, and the FBI contacted Harvey police, sending them a photo of the bank robber.

Harvey police officers later spotted the man matching the bank robber's description at a Pace bus stop, and questioned him. The man identified himself as Jason Paniagua, but he was not arrested.

On April 8, shortly after 10 a.m., Paniagua again walked into the Citibank at 69 W. Washington St. in the Loop, and approached a teller's window, holding a cardboard toilet paper roll in his right hand as if it was a gun. The teller recognized Paniagua from the previous robbery and triggered the bank's silent alarm before telling her supervisors.

Paniagua then told the teller, "Give me all your money, you have three seconds" and started counting down. A second teller handed over $100 in $5 bills, and when he demanded more money, the tellers said they did not have any more because the bank had just opened.

Paniagua then walked out of the bank, and a manager followed him outside and watched him get into a white taxi. When police arrived a short time later, the manager pointed out the taxi, and officers pulled it over and arrested Paniagua, who had $50 in $5 bills on him.

The cab driver also had $50 in $5 bills, telling police Paniagua had paid him cash for the fare.

When Paniagua was questioned after his arrest, he admitted robbing the Citibank on April 8, because he needed money after losing his job at Walmart, but he denied robbing the bank on March 27, according to the charges.

Paniagua made his first court appearance on April 9, and was due back in court for a detention hearing on April 17.