25 years for man in robberies, sexual assault
A North Chicago man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday for his role in a string of armed robberies throughout Lake County and sexual assaults against some of the victims.
Alonzo Amos, 23, was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault, armed robbery and aggravated battery during a hearing before Lake County Associate Judge Theodore Potkonjak.
Amos was one of four people who robbed eight stores in the county between Dec. 13, 2007 and March 2, 2008.
He and Jermmie Carlisle, 22, of North Chicago and Ashley Robinson, 23 of Waukegan, were the target of a massive police hunt before their arrest when police broke up a robbery of a Waukegan restaurant on March 29, 2008.
Only after their arrests did police discover the fourth member of the crew, Jacob Burnett, 24, of Waukegan, had been sitting in jail since after the first robbery because of an arrest on unrelated charges.
In all, police said the group was responsible for the following robberies:
Dec. 13, 2007 at an Arby's in Waukegan; Jan. 14, 2008 at a Game Stop in Waukegan; Jan. 23, 2008 at a Subway in Gurnee; Jan. 31, 2008 at a Burger King in Gurnee; Feb. 5, 2008 at a Radio Shack in Waukegan; and March 2, 2008 at a Game Stop in Round Lake and a Wendy's in Zion.
Police said thousands of dollars in cash and merchandise were stolen in the robberies, and Amos and Carlisle were accused of sexual molesting victims at the Jan. 23, Feb. 5 and March 29 incidents.
Typically, Amos and Carlisle would enter the establishments and do the stealing, while Robinson drove the getaway car.
In August, 2008, Burnett pleaded guilty to armed robbery in the first incident and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Carlisle was sentence to 35 years last October after pleading guilty to armed robbery, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
On Thursday, Amos pleaded guilty to armed robbery and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He also conceded there was enough evidence to convict him of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and received an additional 15-year sentence.
Potkonjak told Amos that once he is released from prison, he will be on parole and required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Robinson pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in July 2009 and is scheduled to be sentenced March 3. She faces up to 15 years in prison, but is also eligible for probation and local jail time.