A woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for setting her boyfriend up by letting four men, all armed with guns and wearing ski masks, into his North Chicago home to rob him.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Lillian Lewis said at an initial court hearing that the incident occurred in North Chicago on July 30, 2022.
The victim told police that he had been in a dating relationship for several years with Ingrid Villanueva, 22, of North Chicago.
Villanueva spent time at the victim’s residence on the day of the incident and began asking the man for money, Lewis said.
Villanueva started calling and texting unknown people, the victim told police.
Four men showed up at the victim’s home and Villanueva let them inside, Lewis said.
The men were armed with guns and wearing ski masks.
Lewis said that one of the suspects pointed a gun at the victim and told him to sit down and not to move or he would kill him.
The suspects began to take items from the house while the victim was held at gunpoint.
The suspects stole a backpack, Apple AirPods, two PlayStation gaming consoles and other items.
During the robbery, Villanueva made the victim send her $200 through CashApp, Lewis said.
The suspects and Villanueva fled in a blue Honda Accord, which was determined to be registered to Villanueva.
Officers investigated and went to an apartment building in Waukegan.
They were given consent to search the apartment and found the victim’s backpack and one of the stolen gaming consoles, Lewis said.
Villanueva and a second person, Javonte Wade, 21, of Waukegan, were arrested after showing up at the apartment.
Villanueva admitted to investigators that she knew the four men involved in the robbery, one of which was Wade, Lewis said.
She said she went to the victim’s residence with the four men and hung out with her boyfriend for a while before letting the men inside the home.
Lewis said that Wade admitted he was in the house and stole one of the gaming consoles.
Villanueva and Wade were both ordered held in the Lake County Jail on a $500,000 bond each. It is not believed that any other suspects were charged in the incident.
Villanueva on Thursday entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery, a Class 1 felony, in exchange for her more serious charges being dismissed.
Villanueva was sentenced pursuant to the plea to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections to be served at 50% in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.
She will also receive credit for time spent in custody awaiting trial.
Robert T. Ritacca, who represents Villanueva, said after the court hearing Thursday that he believed the plea negotiation was reasonable.
“Ingrid deserves a second chance and thankful that she will get that second chance with this reasonable negotiation,” Ritacca said.
The case against Wade remains ongoing, court records show. He is scheduled to appear in court again on September 30 for a case management conference.