Wheaton man pleads ‘not guilty’ to charges in 2021 armed robbery of Marengo Circle K

A 28-year-old Wheaton man was transported from Kane County to the McHenry County courthouse Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to several felonies stemming from a 2021 armed robbery and shooting at a Marengo Circle K gas station.

Gregory L. Garner Jr., one of three men arrested in the Feb. 1, 2021, incident which left an overnight employee wounded, is charged with one count each of armed robbery and aggravated battery with a firearm; two counts of armed violence, all Class X felonies; and burglary, a Class 2 felony.

If convicted, Garner faces up to 60 years in prison on the more serious Class X felonies because he has prior felony convictions.

Garner also could get an additional 15 years in prison if convicted because the crimes he is accused of allegedly involved a gun, McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge said.

Garner, who was cuffed during his arraignment and flanked by two Kane County deputies, also faces up to three years of mandatory supervised release and fines of up to $250,000, Coppedge said.

He has been held at the Kane County jail since June 9, 2021 on $500,000 bond on unrelated Class X felony armed robbery charges. He would need to post $50,000 to be released. His next court date in Kane County is Sept. 26, according to the Kane County jail log. However, if he should post bond he is ordered to be held for “an outside agency,” according to the jail’s website.

Garner is accused of being the getaway driver in the incident, authorities have said. He was assigned a lawyer from the McHenry County Public Defender’s office on Tuesday and is due back in a McHenry County courtroom Sept. 20.

Two others have been charged in the incident; Walter R. Moran, 28, of Cicero and Antonio Pedrote, 27, of Chicago. Each man is being held in the McHenry County jail. Moran is held on $250,000 bond, of which he must post $25,000 to be released. Pedrote is held on $500,000 of which he must post $50,000 to be released.

Moran, who turned himself into Marengo police in September 2021, is charged with three counts of armed robbery, being an armed habitual criminal, aggravated battery with a firearm and armed violence, each a Class X felony, according to the indictment filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

A 2017 felony conviction out of Cook County prohibits Moran from possessing a firearm, according to a Marengo police criminal complaint.

Moran is accused of shooting the Circle K employee, court records show.

Pedrote, arrested in May of 2021, is charged with armed robbery, armed violence, aggravated battery, being an armed habitual criminal, armed violence, burglary, theft and being a felon in possession of a weapon, each a Class X felony.

Together, Moran and Pedrote are accused of robbing the State Street Circle K of $175 and shooting an employee in the process, according to court documents.

The employee suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. He was treated at the scene by the Marengo Fire and Rescue District personnel and flown to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford.

After the shooting, the wounded employee recounted the incident during an interview with the Northwest Herald, noting that he was “miserable” after the shooting, but grateful for the community support he had received.

The gun was about an inch away from the employee’s leg when the shooter pulled the trigger, the employee said.

Officers with the Aurora Police Department said at the time they thought that a string of convenience store robberies from late February 2021 in their city might be connected to the Marengo robbery.

Moran is due back in court Sept. 7. Pedrote is due back in court Sept. 9.