A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbing gas stations in McHenry County at gunpoint. A second suspect later published video online of the stolen proceeds.
Matthew J. Wegleiz, 27, of Cicero, and Shaquille D. Davidson, 24, of Chicago, 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.
During the Island Lake robbery, Davidson took the money from the register while threatening the gas station employee with a gun, prosecutors said.
Wegleiz took items offered for sale and acted as the lookout, prosecutors 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 reportedly 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.
Davidson 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.
Wegleiz was charged in four armed robberies that occurred in Waukegan and an armed robbery in Grayslake in the same month as the Crystal Lake and Island Lake robberies, court records show.
Wegleiz was sentenced in May to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on the Lake County charges and has been serving his sentence in the Danville Correctional Center.
Court records show Davidson entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office late last month.
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.
On Wednesday, Wegleiz pleaded guilty to armed robbery, a Class X felony, and was sentenced to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections as part of a plea deal approved by McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt.
Wegleiz will serve his Lake County and McHenry County sentences concurrently.