Chicago man accused in Lake, McHenry county ‘crime spree’ gets 19 years for Island Lake gas station robbery

A Chicago man convicted in Lake County last year - along with a Cicero man - and serving a 16-year prison term for a gas station armed robbery, got another 19 years after pleading guilty on Wednesday to robbing an Island Lake gas station.

Shaquille Davidson, 29, was charged along with Matthew Wegleiz, 27, in what police called a “crime spree” involving multiple gas stations in Lake and McHenry counties March 23 and 24, 2019, according to Lake and McHenry county court records.

In Lake County, both men were accused of being armed and stealing more than $500 from Murphy’s Gas station in Waukegan with an employee present, according to Lake County court records.

Davidson was transported Wednesday from Pinckneyville prison, where he is serving his sentence in the Lake County conviction, to the McHenry County courthouse.

He appeared in court with his attorney and entered into a negotiated plea to one count of armed robbery, a Class X felony.

Davidson pleaded guilty to “carrying a firearm on his person” on March 24, 2019, when he stole cash from the Citgo gas station in the 500 block of Newport Court in Island Lake, with a store employee present, court records show.

In exchange for his guilty plea, an additional count of the same charge was dismissed.

An additional case involving two other Crystal Lake armed robberies on the same night also was dismissed, court records show.

Both men were accused of being armed with a gun when they stole $195 and cigars from the Open Pantry Shell in the 4800 block of Northwest Highway, and “threatening the cashier,” according to the complaint.

Both also were accused of armed robbery at a Shell gas station in the 200 block of North Route 31, and stealing $35, according to the complaint.

No firearm was recovered or fired in either of the alleged crimes, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney William Bruce said.

Davidson is required to serve 50% of each prison sentence, according to sentencing orders filed in Lake and McHenry counties.

He will serve his sentences concurrently and be on mandatory supervised release for 18 months when released.

Under the truth in sentencing law, he would serve about 9½ years in prison on both cases, Bruce said.

Wegleiz, who is at the Danville Correctional Center serving a 10-year prison sentence for the Lake County armed robbery conviction, is due in McHenry County court on Dec. 13, records show.

Davidson’s attorney, Thomas Carroll, declined to comment. Davidson has been imprisoned at Pinckneyville Correctional Center since April 2022, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.