Chicago man sentenced 25 years in prison for armed robbery in Addison

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his part in a January 2024 armed robbery in Addison.

DuPage County Judge Brian Telander sentenced Willie Carter, 25, of the 8300 block of South Aberdeen Street, on Wednesday, nearly three months after Carter pleaded guilty to a felony charge of armed robbery with a firearm, officials said.

At the time of the robbery in Addison on Jan. 30, 2024, Carter had been out on parole less than two months after a previous armed robbery, officials said. Carter had been held in the DuPage County Jail since Jan. 31, 2024.

The other man accused in the robbery, Anton Stephens, 25, of the 1200 block of South Spaulding Avenue, has a court date scheduled for July 22. He is charged with five felony counts and has been in jail since Jan. 31, 2024, according to officials.

According to prosecutors, at about 11:50 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2024, a Villa Park police officer saw a vehicle suspected of being involved in an armed robbery in Villa Park earlier that month. The officer followed the car until it pulled into a gas station along Lake Street in Addison.

Authorities say the officer saw two men, later identified as Carter and Stephens, exit the vehicle and enter the gas station store.

Once inside, one of the men put cigarettes into a garbage bag while the other ordered the clerk at gunpoint to open the cash register, authorities said. But the clerk couldn't open the register because it was rebooting, officials said.

When a customer came into the store, authorities say, one of the men pointed the gun at his head, told him to get on the floor, and stole his wallet.

Authorities said the police pursued the suspects when they drove away from the gas station. The high-speed pursuit involved about 20 police vehicles.

After police successfully used spike strips on the car at I-290 and Mannheim Road, the suspects' car crashed into a police car. Both men got out of the car and ran away but were taken into custody a few blocks away, officials said.