Man pleads guilty in Arlington Heights robbery

A 46-year-old Chicago man with two robbery convictions expressed remorse as he pleaded guilty to a third Thursday in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.

Steve G. Carter was sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to rob an Arlington Heights currency exchange last August.

“I made a mistake,” Carter said. “I'm sorry and I know I have to pay for it.”

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Fecarotta expressed his appreciation for Carter “stepping up to the plate” and pleading guilty to spare the victim the pain of testifying.

“But sometimes saying sorry is not enough,” Fecarotta said.

Carter pleaded guilty after prosecutors reduced the charge from armed robbery to attempted aggravated robbery, a class 2 felony that carries a sentence of three to seven years in prison. However the defendant's background which includes convictions for two other robberies during the 1980s makes him eligible to be sentenced as a class X offender, which could have resulted in a 30-year prison term.

Carter approached an employee at about 9 a.m. Aug. 18 as she tried to open the Algonquin Road currency exchange, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Andy Dalkin. She asked him to wait but he demanded she admit him, then pushed his way past her into the lobby saying, “Don't even think of calling anyone. I've got a gun and I will shoot you,” Dalkin said.

The employee, who suffered cuts and bruises, managed to slip past Carter and run out the back door to a nearby business, Dalkin said. Later, a citizen called police, who arrested Carter the next day.

Fecarotta pointed out that the employee's life is forever changed because of that “horrifying incident.”

“Calling it a ‘mistake' is one thing. Changing (a person's life) because of what you've done is another,” Fecarotta said.

Carter received credit for 107 days in custody. He must complete at least 50 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.