2 men sentenced to 30 years in prison for Frankfort, New Lenox robberies

Two men have been sentenced to 30 years in prison for their role in the 2019 armed robberies of a woman in Frankfort and a man in New Lenox.

On Friday, Judge Dave Carlson sentenced Justin Brown, 24, of Park Forest, and Terwon Matthews, 25, of Chicago, to serve 30 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to armed robbery, according to court records.

The case against Brown and Matthews stems from two separate incidents that occurred in 2019.

In the first incident, a woman was attempting to withdraw money from an ATM in Frankfort when she was confronted by Brown, Matthews and two other suspects, according to a statement from Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s Office.

The suspects took the woman’s phone and credit card, prosecutors said.

Afterward, they used the woman’s vehicle and her money to engage in an “armed robbery spree” that included the purchase of items at stores in the south suburbs of Chicago, prosecutors said.

During this spree, the woman was still inside the vehicle, prosecutors said. The suspects later abandoned her and the vehicle in Chicago.

In a statement, Glasgow said the “abject terror” the woman endured “cannot be described.”

“One can hardly imagine the depths of despair that she reached during this excruciating ordeal, not knowing if she was going to live or die,” Glasgow said.

The second incident occurred almost two weeks later. Brown, Matthews and other suspects confronted a man in New Lenox as he was walking to his vehicle in his driveway, prosecutors said.

After the suspects demanded the man’s debit card, they placed him in their own vehicle and kept him there as they engaged in yet another “armed robbery spree” in the south suburbs and northwest Indiana, prosecutors said.

The suspects later dropped the man off along the expressway of Hammond, Indiana, prosecutors said.

Glasgow said the victim suffered a “life-altering experience” that he must live with every day.