Cab robbery costs Elgin man 29 years
The lure of some quick cash has turned into a long prison sentence for an Elgin man.
Aaron A. McGee, 22, of the 400 block of Belmont Street, recently was sentenced to 29 years in prison after being convicted of robbing a cabdriver at gunpoint.
Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon sentenced McGee, who was convicted in July of two counts of armed robbery. Sheldon gave McGee a 14-year term for the robbery, and state law also mandated an additional 15-year penalty because a handgun was used in the crime.
Prosecutors said on May 8, 2011, McGee and another man called a cab, which took them to the 300 block of Princeton Avenue on the city’s southwest side.
When they got to their destination, McGee got out to get money for the driver. Prosecutors said that when McGee returned, the second man stayed in the cab and shot pepper spray at the driver’s head. The cabbie turned off the engine and exited the car and McGee put a gun to the man’s back, demanded cash and threatened to shoot him.
The victim ran away and McGee took a bag from the cab that contained the victim’s cellphone. Elgin police found the cell number that was used to call the cab and tracked it back to McGee, who later admitted to police his role in the robbery, prosecutors said.
McGee will receive credit for serving 13 months in jail while his case was pending. He also can have his sentence halved for good behavior behind bars.
Kane County Assistant State’s Attorneys Alexander Bederka and Mark D. Stajdohar prosecuted the case.
Off duty cop saves man: A veteran Aurora police officer recently was named the department’s July “Employee of the Month” for rescuing a Yorkville man from a burning car.
Officer Matt Bonnie was off duty when he came upon the single-vehicle accident June 8 along Minkler Road in Oswego.
The driver of the 2011 Dodge Charger ran off the roadway, struck a ditch, and the vehicle rolled over and caught fire.
Several other people unsuccessfully tried to rescue the driver through the car’s front doors. Bonnie, a sworn Aurora officer since 2004, arrived at the crash and pulled the man through a rear window.
The man is expected to make a full recovery.
More cabs, less tickets: Campton Hills police officers issued 50 tickets — 43 of them for speeding — but did not make a single driving under the influence arrest during a recent Labor Day “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.
“Our enforcement numbers are going down after each successive holiday enforcement detail, especially our DUI and arrests and seat belt violations,” Police Chief Dan Hoffman said. “The special enforcement program is working. More and more drivers are complying with the law. My officers are seeing an increased amount of cabs driving through the village, especially late at night.”