A second man wanted in connection with the shooting, beating and robbery of a gas station clerk in Marengo in February has now been arrested, police announced.
Walter R. Moran, 27, of the 5100 block of West 24th Avenue in Cicero, was charged with three counts of armed robbery, two counts of armed violence, three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and theft.
The Marengo Police Department announced Tuesday that they had taken Moran into custody after a warrant had been issued for his arrest on September 9.
A second suspect, Antonio Pedrote, 26, of the 3300 block of West 23rd Street in Chicago, has been confined in the McHenry County Jail since May.
Pedrote was charged with armed robbery, three counts of armed violence, armed habitual criminal, burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, theft and six counts of aggravated battery.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred around 3:30 a.m. February 24 at the Circle K Shell gas station, 600 North State Street in Marengo.
Marengo Police Department Sgt. Andrew Kjellgren said at the time that officers found an adult victim, identified as Brian Pemble, suffering from a gunshot wound.
Pemble was treated at the scene by paramedics and flown to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford in stable condition, according to Marengo Fire Protection District Capt. Patrick Fanning.
The 35-year-old victim, an on-duty gas station clerk, was shot once in the leg during a robbery.
Kjellgren said the two suspects, Moran and Pedrote, entered the store armed with handguns and tried robbing the business.
Pedrote held the clerk at gunpoint while he got the contents of the register, according to a police bulletin.
He then ordered the clerk to open the safe and pistol-whipped the clerk on two occasions, the police bulletin said.
Moran was watching the door and then went behind the register and told the clerk he had “three seconds.”
Moran counted down and shot the clerk in the leg, police said.
Additional threats were made to the clerk and one of the suspects said “Keith, Keith, come on,” according to the bulletin.
Both suspects left and got into a white van that was seen driving northbound on State Street.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Apprehension Unit and U.S. Marshall’s Great Lakes Task Force arrested Pedrote.
Police said that the investigation is still ongoing but they have been assisted by many agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, McHenry Police, Aurora Police, Naperville Police, Downers Grove Police, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Illinois Department of Corrections, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshall’s Great Lakes Task Force.
Police also said that the two suspects were linked in numerous other armed robberies throughout the Chicago area.
Pedrote remains held in the McHenry County Jail on a $500,000 bond and Moran remains held on a $200,000 bond.