Janitor Accused of Robbing Alsip Speedway At Gunpoint: Prosecutor

ALSIP, IL -- A janitor is accused of robbing a gas station at gunpoint in Alsip. Teresa Cole, 60, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a Class X felony charge of armed robbery. Cole is also charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing.

Sometime around 3 a.m. Oct. 6, the prosecutor said Cole entered the Speedway at 12700 Pulaski Road in Alsip. Cole selected several items and brought them to the counter, where the clerk sat behind a behind a secured glass window. Cole allegedly asked the clerk if she could make a fresh pot of coffee. As the clerk left the booth to make the coffee, Cole told her she changed her mind, the prosecutor said.

According to the charges, Cole approached the clerk from behind and pulled out out a handgun. The clerk managed to make it back behind the window and lock the work area. Cole was yelling at her the whole time. The prosecutor said Cole grabbed the items she set on the counter and walked out of the store.

On Nov. 4, Cole returned to the Speedway around 2:30 a.m. She was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, the prosecutor said. The owner of the gas station identified Cole on surveillance video as a regular customer who works on the overnight cleaning crew at Walmart in Crestwood, the prosecutor said.

The assistant public defender asked the prosecutor what time the robbery occurred on Oct. 6. He questioned the time period because he said Cole works full-time as a janitor at Walmart from 10 p.m. to 7 p.m.

A pretrial assessment flagged Cole for violence, according to court records. Bail was set at $250,000 for the armed robbery charge, and $20,000 for criminal trespassing. She was told to stay away from the Speedway station while her case is pending. Cole is due back court Nov. 30 in Bridgeivew. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.