Man get 25 years for robbing Addison gas station at gunpoint

One of two Chicago men accused of robbing an Addison gas station at gunpoint was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison, prosecutors said.

On March 13, Willie Carter, 25, of the 8300 block of South Aberdeen Street, entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of armed robbery with a firearm, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Carter, who was on parole for less than two months for armed robbery at the time of the offense, has been in custody at the DuPage County Jail since his appearance in First Appearance Court on Jan. 31, 2024, at which time the court granted the state’s motion to detain him pre-trial, according to the release.

The next court date for Carter’s co-defendant, Anton Stephens, 25, of the 1200 block of South Spaulding Avenue, is scheduled for July 22.

Stephens is charged with three counts of armed robbery with a firearm, one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, according to the release.

Stephens has been in custody at the DuPage County Jail since his appearance in First Appearance Court on Jan. 31, 2024, at which time the court granted the state’s motion to detain him pre-trial.

About 11:50 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2024, a Villa Park police officer saw a vehicle that was suspected of being involved in an armed robbery at a Villa Park gas station earlier that month headed westbound on Interstate 290 into DuPage County.

The car exited I-290 heading westbound on Lake Street into Addison and parked near the front door of the Speedway gas station located at 701 E. Lake Street in Addison.

Two men, later identified as Carter and Stephens, exited the vehicle and entered the gas station store. One of the defendants began putting cigarettes in a garbage bag while the other pressed a gun to the side of a female clerk and ordered her to open the cash register, which she was unable to do as the register was in the process of rebooting, authorities said.

A male customer entered the store while the robbery was in progress. One of the defendants pointed a gun at his head and told him to get on the floor, which he did, according to the release. One of the defendants stole the man’s wallet.

Carter and Stephens exited the store with one of the men carrying the bag of cigarettes and fled in their vehicle eastbound on Lake Street.

A Villa Park police deployed spike strips in the eastbound lanes of Lake Street which the defendants avoided by driving east in the westbound lanes of Lake Street, according to the release.

A high-speed pursuit involving about 20 police vehicles from multiple jurisdictions ensured and reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.

Spike strips were on I-290 and Mannheim Road, and the defendants’ car crashed into a marked police car. Both men fled on foot but were arrested within blocks of the crash. When searching the defendants’ vehicle, police allegedly recovered a loaded Glock 22 pistol with an extended magazine, authorities said.

“Mr. Carter’s 25-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections sends a loud and clear message that robbing at gunpoint an innocent person who was working the midnight shift trying to make an honest living will not be tolerated in DuPage County,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release.