Duo Sentenced In Armed Robbery Of Glenview Cell Phone Store

SKOKIE, IL — Two Chicago men have been sentenced to 11 years in state prison for last year's armed robbery of a Glenview cell phone store that led to a police chase ending in an arrest in Lake Michigan. Two unidentified accomplices were never charged.

Darius Bell, 26, of the 7600 block of Jeffrey Boulevard, and Jahare Garcia, 22, of the 4400 block of South Leclair Avenue, pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to two counts of armed robbery, according to police reports and court records. Prosecutors dismissed two counts each of of aggravated robbery, aggravated unlawful restraint and unlawful restraint.

All the charges stem from a Sept. 13, 2018, incident at the T-Mobile store at Waukegan Road and Lake Avenue in Glenview.

"We just got robbed at gunpoint," a employee told dispatchers, explaining she was on her first day of work at the Glenview location.

According to staff, three men entered the store, at least two of them brandishing handguns, and took employees into a back room. They stole about 10 to 20 iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones before fleeing in a silver Hyundai SUV with Indiana license plates.

Staff told officers two suspects first showed up about an hour before the robbery to speak with employees. One told them he wanted to buy a phone as a birthday present for his fiancee. The other said he wanted to change providers to T-Mobile, according to police. After staff told them there were no deals at the time, one of the two men explained they had to "go put money on our card" and drove away.

When they returned, one of them pointed a gun at a store employee and demanded to be taken to the iPhones, telling staff "not to make any funny moves." The other man also pointed a gun at the employees and walked behind the register. A third robber then entered the store.

Two of the robbers who entered the store were described as about 22 years old. But the third of the other suspects was described as about 4 feet, 10 inches tall, 180 pounds, about 35 years old and black with medium hair, dark skin and a scruffy goatee. He wore a gray hoodie and no gloves.

Glenview police sent out an alert for the vehicle and notified other agencies, according to Illinois State Police, who intercepted the silver Hyundai as it headed south on Interstate 90 at West Diversey Avenue in Chicago.

State troopers pursued the SUV while Glenview police continued to track them, using what police described as a "unique" technique that would put employees of other stores in danger if it were disclosed. Former Illinois Assistant Attorney General Leo Draws determined the the robbers were located with the help of a "specialized investigative technique that is not generally known to the public" and should be kept secret.

The SUV was soon found abandoned at North Avenue Beach in Chicago. Four people fled on foot, and a gun was found nearby, according to state police.

One man was apprehended nearby. The other swam into the lake in an attempt to escape. State troopers convinced him to return to shore without having to get wet themselves.

Earlier: Lake Escape Fails As Glenview Armed Robbery Suspect Flee Into Water

Cook County Associate Judge Michael Hood sentenced Bell and Garcia to concurrent 11-year sentences for armed robbery without the use of a firearm. With good behavior, both men could be paroled as early as April 2024, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. At the time of his arrest last year, Bell had been on parole for a 2016 conviction in DuPage County for an altered credit card.