Lake in the Hills teen gets five years for robbery

A Lake in the Hills teen was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to allegations he and a friend robbed a man at knifepoint last year.

Mazin Awwad, 18, of the 100 block of Pheasant Trail, admitted to aggravated robbery as part of a plea deal in which he avoided a possible six- to 30-year prison term if convicted of the armed robbery charge initially filed against him.

The allegations stem from an incident in which, police said, Awwad and co-defendant Deante Velasquez approached an 18-year-old man walking home from work on a Crystal Lake street in the early morning hours of April 11 and demanded his belongings.

The victim told police Awwad displayed a knife and Velasquez threw a punch at him before they took his mobile phone and backpack full of clothes and fled.

Awwad attorney John Ridgway said his client denies ever showing the victim a knife, but admits robbing him.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing," he said. "They didn't plan this. They saw the guy walking down an alley and figured they would intimidate him (into giving up his belongings)."

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed the initial armed robbery charge as well as charges of aggravated battery and mob action Awwad faced in connection with a July 3 gang fight near his home.

Velasquez, 18, of Crystal Lake, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery Tuesday and was sentenced to Impact Incarceration, the state's boot camp-style program for young offenders.

Prosecutors did not offer the boot camp option for Awwad.

"He had the knife, so we thought he should get the more severe penalty," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said.