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Northlake man faces life sentence in Addison robbery

A Northlake man on trial for a 2011 armed robbery faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors said Luis Moreta, 43, was one of three armed men who fooled three victims into believing they were coming to purchase a motorcycle in the late night hours of Dec. 2, 2011, only to rob the men at gunpoint in the parking lot of an Addison apartment complex.

Assistant State's Attorney David Bayer said Moreta, along with Victor Arroyo and Christian Ross Emerson, concocted a scheme in November 2011 to post a false ad on Craigslist offering a black Suzuki GSXR motorcycle for $4,500.

Within days, Bayer said, an unknowing victim, Samuel Ortiz of Chicago, responded to the ad, negotiated a cash price of $3,700 and agreed to pick up the motorcycle in Addison.

Ortiz's lifelong friend, Aldwin Caraballo of Melrose Park, testified Wednesday that Ortiz called him on the evening of Dec. 2, 2011, and asked to borrow his truck to pick up the motorcycle.

“He's a friend, like a brother to me. I had nothing going on and I knew he'd need help loading the motorcycle so I went with,” Caraballo said during the opening day of testimony.

Caraballo said when he, Ortiz and a third man arrived at the apartment complex at 603 Meadow Blvd., they met Emerson, the man Ortiz had been talking to about the bike.

Caraballo said the man then led the three victims to a conversion van in the dark far north end of the complex parking lot and told them the motorcycle was in back.

“I asked him to back the van up by us so we could see it in the light, but he told me the van wouldn't start,” Caraballo said. “Samuel and I actually said, 'This doesn't seem right,' but we went.”

As they approached the van, he said, two additional men armed with guns and with their faces covered surrounded the men and demanded their money, keys, wallets and cellphones.

“It all happened so quick and when it was over they turned us around, in a group and told us to walk toward the light and not turn around.”

Prosecutors argue Moreta, who already has been convicted of two previous Class X felonies, was driving the van and was one of the armed, masked men. They said they believe the evidence, including cellphone records and testimony from both Arroyo and Emerson, will be enough to convict Moreta of his third Class X felony, forcing a mandatory life sentence.

Moreta's attorney, Barry Sheppard, argued that Arroyo and Emerson are both “unreliable and impeachable witnesses” who agreed to testify to ensure better plea deals for themselves.

Moreta, he said, also has an alibi in that he was out to dinner with his wife and her boss when the robbery was committed. Emerson, Sheppard said, borrowed Moreta's van that night saying he was moving a workout set.

Arroyo has pleaded guilty to armed robbery and faces 17 years in prison. Emerson pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in November 2012 and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The trial continues Thursday in courtroom 4014.

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