A Chicago man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for robbing gas stations in McHenry County at gunpoint and then posting video online of the proceeds stolen and the gun used.
Shaquille D. Davidson, 24, of Chicago, and Matthew J. Wegleiz, 23, of Cicero, were identified by police as being responsible for several armed gas station robberies throughout McHenry County and Lake County that occurred in March 2019.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Tom Kotlowski said at the time that the suspects robbed the Shell gas station, 4811 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake around 6:47 p.m. March 24, 2019, and the Shell gas station, 280 North Route 31 in Crystal Lake, an hour later.
The two suspects then robbed other gas stations in Lake County that same night, including the Mobil gas station, 520 Newport Court in Island Lake, police said.
No injuries were reported in any of the robberies.
An anonymous tip was sent to Lake and McHenry County Scanner identifying Davidson as one of the suspects two days after the robberies occurred.
The anonymous tipster also forwarded Lake and McHenry County Scanner a recording of what Davidson had uploaded to his Snapchat account. It showed money, guns and merchandise from the robberies.
Davidson also posted several photos on his Instagram account of the gun used during the robberies. The caption on the photo read, “Need gone ASAP inbox 200 obo today!”
Lake and McHenry County Scanner forwarded the information and video to the Crystal Lake Police Department.
Arrest warrants were then issued for Davidson and Wegleiz.
Wegleiz was arrested by the Gurnee Police Department in late April 2019. Davidson was arrested in June 2019.
Davidson was charged in five armed robberies that occurred in Waukegan in the same month as the Crystal Lake and Island Lake robberies, court records show.
He was sentenced in 2022 to 16 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on the Lake County charges and has been serving his sentence in the Pinckneyville Correctional Center.
Court records show Davidson entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office on Wednesday.
He pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery, a Class X felony, and was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the McHenry County robberies.