A judge has denied a Waukegan man’s request to be released after he and two others were charged in an armed robbery where a teenager was attacked in Wonder Lake.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5:30 p.m. on July 23 to the 3400 block of Thompson Road in Wonder Lake for a call of an armed robbery.
The suspect vehicle fled the area and was spotted by officers with the McHenry Police Department on Route 120, according to police radio traffic.
The suspects fled from the car near Route 120 and Hillside Lane in McHenry.
Law enforcement began searching the neighborhood to the north for the suspects, residents told Lake and McHenry County Scanner. Three suspects were taken into custody.
Christopher B. Williams, 20, of Round Lake Beach, and Azmi S. Ibrahim, 20, of Waukegan, were both initially charged with armed robbery and mob action, court records show.
A grand jury later charged them both with armed robbery, mob action, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful restraint and four counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Williams was additionally charged with two counts of aggravated battery.
The third suspect is a 16-year-old juvenile and charges against them were not known.
McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Miller said Williams traveled with Ibrahim and the juvenile suspect to meet a male juvenile in Wonder Lake.
The meeting between the four was arranged and the victim intended to purchase cannabis from the suspects.
The juvenile victim met the suspects in a vehicle that was driven by Ibrahim, Miller said.
The suspects pulled out multiple firearms and pointed them at the victim, ordering him to hand over the money he brought for the deal.
Miller said Williams pointed a revolver at the juvenile victim’s head and moved it downward toward his torso while threatening to shoot him.
Williams then struck the juvenile with the gun and the victim turned over the cash, which was split among the three suspects, Miller said.
Detectives learned the group planned the incident in advance and intended to rob the victim.
In July, a judge ordered Williams and Ibrahim held on $150,000 bonds, which was requested by prosecutors. Williams’ bond was later reduced to $75,000.
Prosecutors then filed a petition asking the court to hold Ibrahim and Williams without bond, saying that they would pose a “real and present threat to the physical safety” of others if they were released.
Judges later granted those requests and the two have been held in the McHenry County Jail.
An attorney representing Ibrahim filed a motion for release late last month following the new Pretrial Fairness Act of the SAFE-T Act going into effect in Illinois.
Prosecutors responded by filing a petition to detain Ibrahim.
McHenry County Judge James Cowlin on Tuesday denied Ibrahim’s motion for release and ordered him to remain held in custody.
Cowlin found the man poses a “real and present threat” to the safety of the victim and the community.
The judge said it is a concern that Ibrahim has access to guns and has “no fear of using them.”