Aurora man charged with second armed robbery

A 33-year-old Aurora man now faces a second armed robbery charge, this one stemming from a Dec. 11 stickup at a gas station convenience store on the 1200 block of North Eola Road.

Both charges against Juan Morales, of the 600 block of Alyce Lane, are Class X felonies, police said, which call for an enhanced prison sentence if he's convicted.

Police said Morales entered the convenience store just before 9 p.m., threw a note in front of the 62-year-old clerk announcing the robbery and then displayed a handgun. They said Morales fled with about $100. Charges in this case were filed in DuPage County.

The earlier charge, lodged on Jan. 10 in Kane County, stemmed from a Dec. 12 robbery where police said Morales entered a gas station just before 9 a.m. on the 600 block of N. Broadway and demanded money at gunpoint from a 32-year-old clerk and then fled with $500.

Using still photos from security systems at the gas station on Broadway and neighboring businesses, Aurora detectives issued a bulletin to area law enforcement agencies the afternoon of Dec. 12 depicting both Morales and the vehicle he was driving. Shortly after sending the bulletin, Plainfield police told Aurora investigators they had just arrested Morales, who strongly resembled the subject in the bulletin, for a residential burglary.

Morales is being held in the Will County jail on a $2 million bond in connection with the Plainfield burglary.