Trial begins for man charged in 2015 Carol Stream armed robbery

The clerk was wrapping up his shift at a now-shuttered Carol Stream 7-Eleven around 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2015, when a man entered the store, stuck a gun in his face and demanded all the money in the store and the wallets of the clerk and his co-worker.

The gunman, DuPage County prosecutors said Wednesday, then walked to a car driven by former College of DuPage football defensive standout Quincy Skanes and threw the backpack full of money in the trunk before the two sped away.

Although Skanes, of Glen Ellyn, never entered the store, he's on trial this week for armed robbery because he drove the getaway car and helped plan the robbery, Assistant State's Attorney Louisa Nuckolls said.

But Skanes' attorney, Michael Sweeney, said his client didn't know what was going on until the gunman, identified as Johnny Holmes III, also of Glen Ellyn, got in the car and told him what he had done.

"(Skanes) had attended classes, organized his textbooks for the next morning's classes and was at work when he got a text from Johnny Holmes asking him to pick him up in Carol Stream at the 7-Eleven," Sweeney said. "It was cold and he needed a ride, so when (Skanes) got off work, he left Aurora and headed to Carol Stream."

Nuckolls, however, told jurors that Skanes knew more than he let on.

"By no means was the defendant an innocent pawn in this robbery," Nuckolls said. "That night, he was all in."

Less than an hour after the robbery, Glen Ellyn police officer Kevin Riggle observed a man, later identified as Holmes, walking along a street. Riggle testified Wednesday that Holmes matched the description of the man who robbed the 7-Eleven, right down to his brown boots, so he attempted to talk to Holmes.

Holmes fled from Riggle and another officer and ran about 200 yards before he was apprehended.

During the investigation, officers from the Carol Stream, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Lombard police departments were able to connect Skanes and Holmes to a third Glen Ellyn man, Justus Brantley, and additional charges were filed, including some related to a New Year's Day 2015 Carol Stream home invasion.

In that case, a woman woke to find two unknown men in her apartment around 5:30 a.m. One man choked her while the other stole items from her apartment, including her debit card, prosecutors said in bond court. Brantley and Skanes both were charged with home invasion in that case.

The two are believed to have then moved to another apartment, where they stole a TV, authorities say.

Skanes, now 24, has been held on $750,000 bail since his arrest.

At the conclusion of this trial, he faces two additional trials on charges of aggravated robbery and home invasion.

Holmes was sentenced in April to 23 years in prison for armed robbery with a firearm and 15 years for armed violence after being convicted by a jury. He is appealing his sentence.

Brantley was sentenced to seven years in prison in November 2017 after being convicted on home invasion charges.