CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for participating in a violent robbery crew that targeted cell phone stores in the suburbs of Chicago.
AARON CLARK was part of a crew that conspired to rob cell phone stores in Calumet City, Ill., and Peotone, Ill., in 2017. The crew conducted takeover-style heists in which the robbers pointed guns at employees and bound their hands and feet with duct tape or rope. The robbers then stole cash and electronic devices and fled the stores. Clark brandished a gun during the heists and threatened to shoot store employees. In the Peotone robbery, Clark violently kicked a store employee in the face and knocked another employee off of a stool to the ground.
Clark, 44, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to federal conspiracy, robbery, and firearm charges. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the prison sentence Wednesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Calumet City Police Department, Peotone Police Department, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“The offenses in this case were violent and dangerous,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard M. Rothblatt and Aaron R. Bond argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “No one should have to experience the physical pain and psychological terror defendant imposed upon the employees at these stores who were simply doing their jobs.”
One other member of the crew was convicted of armed robbery offenses in the Circuit Court of Cook County and sentenced to 14 years in state prison.
