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'Extremely aggressive' thief gets 25 years in Naperville heist

A Chicago man found guilty of "terrorizing and traumatizing" two clerks during a 2013 Naperville armed robbery is headed to prison.

Dennis Clark, 24, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the robbery of a Naperville Radio Shack. Judge Brian Telander sentenced Clark to 10 years and state law requires an additional 15 be tacked on because the crime was committed with a gun.

Clark pleaded for mercy and apologized to both victims while reading a statement before Telander passed down his sentence. But Telander said it was hard to overlook Clark's role in the crime.

"Actions speak louder than words," Telander said. "You attempted to lock the door. You ordered (the victims) to lay on their stomachs. You watched the security monitor to make sure no one was coming."

Clark and Christopher Nesbit, 45, of Chicago, threatened two employees with a handgun during the robbery on Aug. 12, 2013, at Radio Shack, 1223 E. Ogden Ave., while a third man acted as a lookout and driver.

Clark was convicted in April of armed robbery in the caper that prosecutors said saw him and the two other men make off with $45,000 in cellphones.

Prosecutors said an "extremely aggressive" Clark and Nesbit entered the store that evening and "terrorized and traumatized" the 24-year-old female clerk and her 54-year-old manager with the gun for more than an hour.

"The mental injuries suffered are far more severe than a broken bone or busted skull," Assistant State's Attorney Steve Knight said. "Physical injuries heal. Mental injuries last."

After stealing the phones, the men locked the employees in a bathroom and sped off in a Volvo with the cellphones, prosecutors said.

A female clerk testified during April's trial that she opened the bathroom door after hearing a car speed away. She said her manager immediately called 911, while she logged into a program to track her phone. She was able to get a signal and track her phone to the entry ramp of I-88, where police later recovered her smashed phone.

Naperville police used that information to track the three men down and attempted to pull them over on I-290. The men fled onto Cicero Avenue and quickly crashed the car near 15th Street and Kostner Avenue in Chicago.

Nesbit, who had a leg injury, was quickly captured and eventually gave up Clark and Jalin Parks, the man charged with driving the getaway car.

Nesbit pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in May 2014 and is serving a 15-year sentence. Parks pleaded guilty Monday to attempted armed robbery and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

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