- Willie Carter, 25, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to armed robbery with a firearm. He had been on parole for less than two months for a previous armed robbery.
- The robbery occurred on January 30 at a Speedway gas station in Addison, where Carter and a co-defendant allegedly held a clerk and a customer at gunpoint before fleeing and leading police on a high-speed chase.
- A loaded Glock with an extended magazine was discovered in the suspects’ vehicle, and DuPage County prosecutors say the sentence reflects their zero tolerance for violent crimes against innocent workers.
ADDISON, Ill. – A Chicago man accused of robbing a suburban gas station at gunpoint has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, prosecutors said.
What We Know: Willie Carter, 25, pleaded guilty on March 13 to one count of armed robbery with a firearm, a Class X felony, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Carter had been on parole for less than two months for a prior armed robbery when he committed the most recent offense.
The state requested a 40-year sentence within the sentencing range of 21 to 60 years. Carter has been held at the DuPage County Jail since his first court appearance on Jan. 31, when the court granted the state’s motion to detain him pending trial.
Carter’s co-defendant, Anton Stephens, 25, is charged with three counts of armed robbery with a firearm, one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer. Stephens remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on July 22.
The charges stem from an incident on January 30 at the Speedway gas station in Addison. According to police, a Villa Park officer spotted a vehicle suspected of being involved in an earlier armed robbery and followed it onto I-290 before turning onto Lake Street.
Two men, Carter and Stephens, entered the gas station. Prosecutors said one man stuffed cigarettes into a garbage bag while the other held a gun to a female clerk and demanded she open the cash register. The clerk was unable to comply as the register rebooted.
According to the state attorney, a male customer entered the store during the robbery and was ordered to the floor at gunpoint. One suspect allegedly stole the customer’s wallet.
The suspects then fled in their vehicle, resulting in a high-speed chase involving approximately 20 police vehicles from various jurisdictions.
The chase reached speeds of over 100 mph and ended when the suspects collided with a marked police car and fled on foot. Both were arrested within blocks of the crash, according to prosecutors.
Police discovered a loaded Glock 22 pistol with an extended magazine inside the vehicle.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin stated that Mr. Carter’s sentence of 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections sends a clear message that robbing an innocent person at gunpoint while working the midnight shift will not be tolerated in the county.
“There is no place in civilized society for Mr. Carter’s behavior, and today’s sentence ensures that he will be unable to prey on society for an extended period of time.
I thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Denis Cahil and Kristin Sullivan for their efforts to hold Mr. Carter accountable for his criminal actions.”
