Second man charged in Lombard 7-Eleven robbery sentenced to 20 years

The second of two Chicago men accused of robbing a Lombard 7-Eleven convenience store at gunpoint last summer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, authorities said.

Lennell Owens, 47, formerly of the 8700 block of South Emerald Avenue, appeared in court May 19, where he was sentenced after entering a plea of guilty to one count of armed violence, a Class X felony, on March 7, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

On March 23, Owens’ co-defendant, Reginald Allen, 54, also of Chicago, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

On June 14, 2022, both men appeared in bond court where the court granted the state’s motion to deny bond. Both men remained in custody since that time.

About 6:45 p.m. June 11, 2022, Allen and Owens entered the 7-Eleven convenience store located at 801 S. Westmore-Myers Road. As the men approached the counter, Allen demanded money from a female employee who was working at the cash register, according to the release.

Owens went to the back of the store with a male employee and stole at gunpoint cartons of cigarettes from the shelves as well as the employee’s cellphone. While Owens was in the back of the store, Allen remained at the counter and collected the money from the cash register, according to the release.

After the robbery, both men left the store and drove away in a Jeep Wrangler south on Westmore-Myers Road. Once alerted to the robbery, authorities located the Jeep exiting a parking lot on Roosevelt Road.

Lombard police attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The driver of the Jeep, later identified as Owens, fled from the officers traveling about 114 mph on Interstate 355, at which time police terminated pursuit out of safety concerns.

With assistance from the Illinois State Police and a helicopter from the Chicago Police Department, the vehicle was spotted near Interstate 290 and Route 83. The vehicle exited Interstate 290 onto 17th Avenue and ultimately crashed into a tree on 74th Avenue in Elmwood Park. Both men and an unidentified occupant of the vehicle were taken into custody at that time.

After the execution of a search warrant, authorities located a loaded Glock 10mm handgun, 33 cartons of cigarettes and almost $200 cash in the vehicle, according to the release.

“In DuPage County, we will not tolerate the type of violent gun crime committed by Mr. Owens and Mr. Allen,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “We will use every tool available to us, including air support and assistance from other agencies, as in this case, to apprehend anyone who would commit such a crime.”