15-year-old sentenced for armed robbery at Willowbrook Target

A 15-year-old juvenile, who previously entered a plea of guilty to one count of armed robbery with a firearm, has been sentenced to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice for an indeterminate amount of time not to exceed his 21st birthday. The juvenile entered his guilty plea Feb. 17.

On Oct. 13, 2021, about 2:45 p.m., Willowbrook police were dispatched to the Target, 7601 Kingery Highway, for a report of a woman who was approached by an individual with a gun, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Police spoke with the victim and initiated an investigation. Following the investigation, it was determined that after the victim finished loading items into her vehicle, she was approached by the juvenile as she was about to enter the car. While pointing a gun at the victim, the juvenile told her, “Give me the (expletive) keys” and “look at the gun.”

After the victim gave the juvenile her keys, she ran back to the Target and called 911. The investigation found the juvenile entered and started the woman’s car but was unable to drive away. Authorities found the juvenile at a nearby hotel, where he was taken into custody without incident within one hour. At the time of his arrest, the juvenile had multiple pending forcible felony cases in Cook County and one pending forcible felony out of Will County, according to the release. He has remained in custody since his arrest.

“The extremely quick apprehension and successful prosecution of the juvenile charged in this case sends the message that in DuPage County we will not tolerate this type of violent behavior, regardless of the defendant’s age,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Brazen crimes such as this affect not just the victim in the case, but also the entire community as people worry for their own personal safety wondering if they will be next.”