Man Sentenced In Downers Grove Armed Robbery

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – A Chicago man was sentenced Thursday to 21 years for armed robberies at restaurants in Downers Grove and Lisle, authorities said.

Devonte Johnson, 23, has been in the DuPage County Jail since the robberies.

On the afternoon of Jan. 4, 2020, two men, one of whom was identified as Johnson, entered Domino's Pizza, 5531 Belmont Road, in unincorporated Downers Grove, DuPage County prosecutors said in a news release.

Johnson walked behind the counter, pointed a gun at the cashier and ordered the cashier to open the register, the release said. Johnson and the other man, who remains unknown, took money from the register.

Johnson then ordered the cashier to open the safe. After the cashier did so, he took more money, police said.

The men left in a Mercedes-Benz that had been stolen that day in Bolingbrook.

Earlier in the day, the men also entered a Dunkin' Donuts in Lisle, with the unidentified accomplice brandishing a gun at the cashier and demanding money from the register, authorities said. They also ordered the cashier to open the safe, where the suspects got more money.

Late that day, Johnson and several others were involved in a high-speed pursuit in the Mercedes, ending when the car crashed, police said. Johnson then ran away, but was apprehended. Officers found a loaded gun close by.

"The fact that Mr. Johnson used a stolen vehicle to commit two armed robberies where he terrorized two individuals who were just trying to make an honest living is extremely disturbing," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in the news release.

Johnson was convicted of two counts of armed robbery.