Woman pleads guilty to robbing man lured via Facebook
A woman who lured a man to a robbery via Facebook has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Breanna Gardea, 23, pleaded guilty Dec. 14 to one count of aggravated robbery, according to DuPage County court records.
DuPage County Judge Michael Reidy accepted the plea, and recommended the Illinois Department of Corrections allow Gardea to enter its Structured Impact Incarceration program, also called “boot camp.” If she completes the 120-day program, her sentence could be reduced to time served. She received credit for the year she has spent in jail awaiting trial, plus an extra 97 days for programming she completed during that time.
Her co-defendant, Teron Russell, pleaded guilty Dec. 7 to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to four years in prison.
According to a prosecutor’s statement of facts, Gardea lured a man on Jan. 4 to their apartment in West Chicago to rob him.
They alleged the victim met Gardea via Facebook a month earlier, where she used an alias, “Nicole Marie.”
When they met outside her apartment, they went to pick up some food. Upon returning, she took the victim to the second floor and opened a door. When the victim turned on a light, he found he was in a laundry room. Russell was waiting in the room.
Gardea left the room. Russell showed the victim a knife and an ammunition magazine, authorities said, then stole the man’s phone, wallet and keys.
Then Gardea returned and punched the man in his face. She and Russell forced the man into the back seat of his car. Russell drove to an ATM in Carol Stream and forced the victim to withdraw about $300. They then dropped him off at a random intersection, and left his car in the apartment complex parking lot.