Inside man in botched Lake Co. restaurant robbery pleads guilty

One of three men charged in a failed robbery attempt at a popular Lake County restaurant that left two employees wounded pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court.

In addition to accepting a 13-year prison sentence, Edward Jackson, 40, agreed to testify against the other two charged in the Dec. 9, 2007 shooting at The Silo near Lake Bluff.

Jackson, of Chicago, was an employee of the establishment at 625 Rockland Road and recruited Charles Knight and Kennedy Banks, both of Chicago, for the attempted hold up of the restaurant and its patrons.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ari Fisz said Jackson, who served time in prison with Knight after a 1996 conviction for attempted murder, believed the three men would net around $3,000 from the robbery.

Fisz said Jackson had two conversations with his cohorts about a week before the attempt, and convinced them to act on a Sunday night because the restaurant would be less crowded.

Jackson was in the restaurant when Knight and Banks walked in, ate a pizza and had a few drinks, Fisz said, then Knight walked out to retrieve the .40-caliber pistol he kept hidden under the hood of his car.

When Knight returned, Fisz said, he and Banks announced the robbery and began herding customers and staff toward a cooler in the rear of the building.

A male hostage broke and ran for the door, Fisz said, and Knight fired one shot that passed through the right arm of a 27-year-old male employee and lodged in the abdomen of a 31-year-old employee. Both men survived the shooting.

Jackson was arrested about five days after the robbery, and Knight and Banks were arrested late last year.

Fisz said he agreed to drop charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and burglary against Jackson in exchange for his guilty plea to aggravated battery with a firearm.

Knight and Banks have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and are scheduled to go on trial March 23.