Beach Park man sentenced to 16 years in prison for hotel robbery

A Beach Park man was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to an attempted armed robbery charge stemming from a December stickup at a Waukegan hotel.

Ronald Edmiston, 48, must serve at least half the sentence before being eligible for parole, under a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop more serious charges of armed robbery and aggravated robbery in the hotel case and the armed holdup of a Beach Park gas station the next day.

He also must spend three years on parole after his release from prison, and is required to pay court fines totaling $1,196.

Edmiston was accused of robbing the Travel Lodge at 3633 N. Lewis Ave. in Waukegan at knife point Dec. 22. Authorities said he took an undisclosed amount of money and property from the hotel.

One day later, Edmiston and another person were arrested by Lake County Sheriff's police after a car chase that ended when his Cadillac Eldorado crashed into a snowbank, authorities said.

Edmiston, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was accused of robbing the Citgo station on the 38000 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park at knife point around 5:35 a.m. that morning, according to authorities.