Man gets 4 years in prison in drug deal-related robbery
A 19-year-old Montgomery man has been sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to his role in an October 2018 drug deal-related robbery in Aurora in which one man was shot by police.
Michael C. Paige, of the 0-99 block of Señora Drive, and two other men were arrested and charged with armed robbery, armed violence, marijuana possession and other felonies after police received a robbery call from an apartment complex on the 1100 block of Farnsworth Avenue, which is near the police station.
Paige pleaded guilty to one count of felony possession of a firearm in exchange for prosecutors dismissing other, less severe charges, according to Kane County court records. The armed robbery count carried a top punishment of 30 years in prison.
The weapons charge Paige pleaded guilty to carried a sentence ranging from probation to up to five years in prison.
According to police, the three men went to an apartment to buy drugs. Instead of a purchase, they drew their guns, robbed the occupants and ran off.
An Aurora police officer in the police parking lot heard the call over the radio and a short chase ensued.
Police said the officer had an "armed confrontation" with one of the men, Giovanni A. Padilla, 26, of Aurora, who was shot once and was taken to a hospital for treatment. A gun and drugs were found in the area, police said.
Officers converged on the area and arrested Paige in the backyard of a house on the 800 block of Trask Street. Authorities found the third suspect, Tyrone T. Smith, 18, of Chicago, on the 700 block of Trask.
Smith pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in early September and was sentenced to four years in prison. Prosecutors dismissed the most severe charges against him in exchange for the plea, court records show.
Under state law, Paige can have his prison term halved for good behavior and he gets credit for about 11 months served at the Kane County jail while the case was pending.
Padilla, who is next due in court Oct. 16, is held at the Kane County jail on $375,000 bail.