Guilty plea in Carpentersville home invasion, kidnapping

Checking the balance on — and later redeeming — a stolen Walmart gift card will ultimately result in prison for two men who terrorized a Carpentersville family during a February 2010 home invasion.

Antonio Espino, 23, of the 1500 block of Crimson Lane, Palatine, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 18 felony counts of home invasion, armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping in the Feb. 1, 2010, attack.

He faces up to 30 years prison for his role in the attack in which he and Brian M. Norbut, 23, of the 800 block of Dorman Drive, Streamwood, followed a couple home from the store and tied them up in their home.

Masked and armed with a baseball bat and authentic-looking BB gun, the pair stole jewelry, money and a television, Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Sams said.

Norbut, armed with the pellet gun, threatended to kill the couple’s 5-year-old daughter and drove her to a drive-through ATM while Espino, back at the house, forced the victims to give out their bank code, prosecutors said.

After withdrawing $400, Espino and Norbut restrained the three with duct tape and forced them into a closet.

But on their way out, a neighbor noticed the men loading items into Espino’s red 1996 Dodge Neon and the neighbor sped off. A few days afterward, authorities learned the pair had redeemed a stolen gift card at the Streamwood Walmart and also checked the balance on it via cell phone.

Sams credited Carpentersville Police Detective Paul Brandt for his “tireless, nonstop” work in the case.

Prosecutors had reached a deal with Espino, but he backed out at the last minute and will put his fate in the hands of Judge T. Jordan Gallagher at a hearing on April 28, Assistant Public Defender Thomas McCulloch said.

Last August, Norbut and Espino pleaded guilty in Cook County to vehicular hijacking, home invasion and aggravated kidnapping and were sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The charges were from the robberies of a Prospect Heights couple and a Schaumburg woman, and two holdups at Subway restaurants in Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg, in February and March of 2010.

Norbut pleaded guilty to the Carpentersville attack on Sept. 29 and was sentenced to 24½ years in prison, which will be served at the same time as the 18 years from Cook County.

Gallagher has the option of making Espino’s newest sentence concurrent or consecutive to the Cook sentence.