Cary man no longer faces robbery trial

Armed robbery and conspiracy charges against a Cary man were dismissed Monday after McHenry County prosecutors chose not to cut a deal with his co-defendants so that they would testify against him.

Gabriel Morales, 22, 342½ Crystal St., had been scheduled to go on trial Monday morning on the felony charges that could have landed him six to 30 years in prison. Instead, he left the McHenry County jail facing a sentence on an unrelated obstructing justice charge.

The robbery allegations stemmed from a Jan. 9 holdup at a Crystal Lake White Hen Pantry in which, authorities say, a robbers hit a clerk over the head with a lead pipe before making off with about $735.

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Mary Baccam said Morales sat in a car outside the store while his co-defendants committed the robbery. Morales was charged because he knew what they had planned and went along with it, she said.

"He could have prevented this," Baccam said. "He chose not to."

The only witnesses who could place Morales in the car, Baccam said, are his co-defendant and roommate Daniel T. Chareski, 20, and Stephen L. Waters, 23, of Rockford. Prosecutors did not want to cut Chareski and Waters a deal to convict someone they believe is less responsible for the robbery, she said.

"We would have had to deal with the big fish in order to get the little fish, and we didn't want to do that," Baccam said.

Morales' attorney, Colin MacMeekin, said prosecutors simply didn't have any evidence his client took part in the robbery.

"Other than what those two (co-defendants) said, there was no evidence Gabriel Morales was involved," MacMeekin said.

Morales, however, is not entirely in the clear. He must return to court Oct. 19 for sentencing on a felony obstructing justice charge alleging he gave a Cary police officer a false name and date of birth to avoid arrest for probation violation. He is on probation in Kane County for a felony marijuana conviction.

Chareski and Waters both are scheduled to appear in court later this month on armed robbery and conspiracy charges for the holdup. Chareski also faces an aggravated battery charge alleging he was the robber who hit the clerk.