A Chicago man is being held on charges that he threatened to shoot two employees of a Vernon Hills mini-mart despite being a frequent visitor of the business and going into the store earlier that day wearing the same clothing.
Shaun Tanksley, 30, was ordered detained until trial on charges of Aggravated Robbery Indicating a Firearm, a Class 1 felony that could put him in prison for 4 to 15 years.
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Theis said Tanksley entered Manni’s Mini-Mart in the 0-to-100 block of Butterfield Road at about 10:40 p.m. on Oct. 25, walked up to the front counter, and hid his hand under his clothing.
Tanksley told the employee he had a firearm, then said, “If you value your life, you will hand over the money.”
He then told the clerk to hand over all the money in the register or he wouldn’t hesitate to use the implied weapon.
The clerk handed over about $300 in cash and Tanksley left the store.
The store employees contacted the store owner who pulled the robbery video.
Theis said the mini-mart owner identified Tanksley as a repeat customer of the establishment, coming in two or three times a week, and had visited the store earlier that morning wearing the same clothes.
Vernon Hills Police picked up Tanksley at his mother’s house in Chicago later that day.
He was transported back to first appearance court on Oct. 30 where the state filed motions to detain Tanksley until trial. He later appeared in front of Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim that afternoon.
Defense attorneys said Tanksley was an addict who was “dope sick” at the time of the robbery and went looking for money from the establishment as a way to feed his addiction.
They also said he hadn’t been charged with a crime in over four years and had only served a minor prison sentence 10 years earlier.
Nerheim admitted Tanksley had done a good job avoiding trouble over the last four years, but his addiction makes him unable to think clearly.
“This is a result of a drug addiction substantiated by the fact that, if the defendant wasn’t in his right mind, he wouldn’t try to rob a store where he frequents, where he knows people, where he’s known the owner for 10 years and where he was there earlier that day wearing the same clothes,” Nerheim said. “It’s clear he poses a real and present threat, not just to the store, but to the people inside, the community, and himself based on his condition.”
He’s due to appear before Lake County Judge George Strickland on Nov. 26 for a preliminary hearing.