Silo employee pleads not guilty in robbery

A Silo restaurant employee accused of setting up the botched robbery that led to the shooting of two co-workers pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lake County circuit court.

Edward Jackson, 44, is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ari Fisz said Jackson, of Chicago, convinced Charles Knight and an unidentified man they could make a good deal of money by robbing the Knollwood eatery.

Knight, who remains at large, and the other man came to the restaurant the night of Dec. 9 and ate a meal while Jackson worked behind the bar.

When the waitress brought the check to the men, they announced the robbery and began herding customers and employees toward a closet in the back of the restaurant, police said.

One employee made a dash for the door, and Knight fired one shot from a .40-caliber pistol, police said. The bullet missed the running employee but struck two other workers.

Knight was identified by a fingerprint he left on a glass he had been served with his meal.

Jackson was charged after police discovered he had been in prison with Knight. He confessed his role during questioning by detectives, police said.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said at a news conference after Jackson's arrest that Knight should be considered extremely dangerous.

He said Knight is still wanted for his role in a 2005 shootout between rival drug dealers in Rockford in which a man was killed.

Detectives are trying to identify the third man in the robbery, Fisz said.

Circuit Judge Fred Foreman scheduled a trial for Feb. 4. He ordered Jackson, who is held on $1 million bond, to appear in court Jan. 23.