Robber charged in pharmacy robbery attempt

Wauconda Police said an Island Lake man who was shot Valentine's Day while trying to rob a Wauconda pharmacy successfully pulled off the same crime two months earlier at the same store.

Guy Conti, 31, whose most recent address was on the 27000 block of Hickory Street, has been charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of robbery for attempting to hold up the Wauconda Pharmacy at Liberty and Main streets, Police Chief Doug Larsson said Monday.

Conti was also charged with robbing that store Dec. 10 and making off with an assortment of pain killers after threatening people with a gun, Larsson said.

Conti remains at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he is under armed guard and considered a flight risk, Larsson said. Once Conti is released from the hospital, he will be taken to Lake County jail and held on $500,000 bond.

Conti was shot and wounded during the Feb. 14 scuffle with store employees after he allegedly entered the pharmacy about 1:45 p.m. wearing a ski mask and brandishing a large knife.

Conti forced his way into the pharmacists' work area and demanded painkillers, Larsson said, but was overpowered by store employees.

Conti broke free but made threatening advances with the knife toward a technician, Larsson said. That prompted an employee to grab a large-caliber gun and fire more than one round at Conti, Larsson said.

Conti was hit by a single bullet and was taken to Condell where he underwent surgery. “He's been taken off the I.V. and other medical devices that forced him to remain in the hospital, which is why we consider him a flight risk now,” Larsson said. “He is not considered dangerous to doctors or anyone else in the hospital. We just don't want him to pick up and walk out.”

No charges were filed against the pharmacy employee, who legally owns the registered gun and was allowed to have it in the business, Larsson said.

On Dec. 10, Larsson said, Conti entered the pharmacy, pushed his way behind the counter, and threatened the pharmacist with a gun.

He demanded and was given pain pills, and escaped the store, Larsson said. Conti confessed to that holdup when questioned by police after the February shooting, Larsson added.

Conti also faces robbery charges in Arkansas. He is accused of robbing a pharmacy near Fayetteville on Oct. 17 with a metal broomstick handle made to look like a shotgun. He also was charged for breaking into the same pharmacy weeks before, officials said. In each attempt, Conti made off with an assortment of pain pills, Larsson said, but his image was seen on video, just like in the Wauconda bust.

Officials from Arkansas and Lake County have been communicating to determine if Conti should remain in Illinois to answer charges, or returned to Arkansas.

If found guilty of the Illinois crimes, he could be sentenced up 15 years behind bars, Larsson said.