A woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted in an armed robbery of a convenience store in Wonder Lake where the clerk was left injured.
Alejandra Gil, 19, of the 300 block of South Belmont Street in Elgin, was charged with armed robbery, theft, unlawful restraint and mob action, all of which are felonies.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9:30 p.m. on November 22 to Sunrise Food and Liquor, 5313 East Wonder Lake Road in Wonder Lake, for a report of a hold-up alarm.
McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Creighton said at the time that preliminary information showed four suspects entered the store and at least one of them was armed.
The clerk sustained minor injuries during the robbery, Creighton said. Paramedics transported him to a local hospital.
Police radio traffic indicated the clerk had been pistol-whipped by one of the suspects.
Creighton said the four suspects fled with stolen items. It is unknown if the handgun used in the robbery was real or a replica.
Three of the suspects were males, who were all wearing masks, and one of them was a female, who was not wearing a mask, Creighton said.
An alert issued over the Illinois State Police Emergency Radio Network to area police departments said that at least two of the suspects had black semi-automatic handguns.
Court records said that approximately $9,500 in cash and merchandise was stolen during the robbery.
A criminal complaint said that the clerk was unlawfully restrained during the incident.
Gil was charged on November 30 and arrested days later, court records show.
At the time of the robbery, Gil was on felony probation in Kane County for a drug offense, prosecutors said.
The woman pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery, a Class X felony, on Tuesday in exchange for prosecutors dismissing her other charges.
McHenry County Judge James Cowlin approved the plea deal and sentenced Gil to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
As part of her prison sentence, Gil has been referred to receive substance and alcohol abuse treatment.
The others involved in the robbery have not been charged.