Teen gets boot camp for robbing Wheeling Arby's

A Wheeling teen will serve a stint in boot camp for holding up an Arby's restaurant at gunpoint.

Jesus Arcos, 18, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony aggravated robbery for his part in a March stickup at the Arby's on Elmhurst Road in Wheeling.

Prosecutors said two men -- Arcos and a 16-year-old --entered the Arby's restaurant wearing bandanas that covered their faces and wielding pellet guns that looked like handguns.

Prosecutors said they stole about $1,200 from the cash register before taking off on foot, eventually meeting up with 20-year-old Wheeling resident James Cantrell, accused of being the getaway driver.

"This was the dumbest thing you could have ever done. You know that, right?" Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas Fecarotta told Arcos Tuesday. "What happens if someone pulls out a real pistol?"

Fecarotta continued, "Your lawyer did a good job for you. Don't blow this."

Another Wheeling teen, Anthony Stevenson, pleaded guilty in April to felony aggravated robbery for planning the stickup. Like Arcos, he was ordered to complete the Cook County boot camp program.

Stevenson, 17, worked at the Arby's at the time of the robbery.

Wheeling police came to suspect Stevenson, who initially pretended to be a victim, because his story didn't match those from others present during the robbery.

The 16-year-old will be tried in juvenile court.