
A judge reversed his decision and released a Gurnee woman who prosecutors say threatened to shoot a clerk while implying she was armed during a failed robbery at a gas station near Lake Villa.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 12:25 p.m. on January 1 to Marathon, 36809 North Route 83 in unincorporated Lake Villa, for a report of an armed robbery.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and learned that a woman entered the gas station, implied that she had a firearm and demanded cash from the clerk, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The clerk refused the woman’s demands and the woman attempted to break into the cash register herself.
Covelli said the woman, later identified as Christina A. Lintner, 40, of Gurnee, fled in a black SUV with out-of-state license plates after not having any success with accessing the cash.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said Lintner used her hand in the shape of a gun under her sweatshirt to imply she was armed during the robbery.
Lintner demanded the clerk give all of the money in the register or she would shoot him, Shepherd said.
The clerk refused to open the register and Lintner tried opening it herself but failed, Shepherd said.
Shepherd said the woman then again threatened to shoot the clerk and tried to steal the clerk’s phone but was unsuccessful. Video surveillance was recovered capturing the attempted robbery.
Sheriff’s deputies at the scene used Flock license plate reader technology to determine the vehicle likely used in the robbery was a Ford Expedition.
Sheriff’s dispatchers issued a countywide broadcast to other law enforcement with the information, Covelli said.
Gurnee police officers located the vehicle after a Flock camera in the area detected the offending vehicle.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Grand Avenue and Hunt Club Road near Walmart where police officers had the offending vehicle pulled over.
Lintner was the driver and positively identified as being responsible for committing the attempted robbery, Covelli said.
Shepherd said Lintner admitted to being at the gas station earlier in the day and committing the robbery but claimed someone else was forcing her to do it.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested her and transported her to the Lake County Jail.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the charge of attempted aggravated robbery, a Class 2 felony.
“Through diligent work and collaboration, our deputies tracked down and apprehended an offender who posed a threat to others. I’m proud of everyone involved—our telecommunicators who issued the alert, our deputies who investigated, and our law enforcement partners who helped locate this offender,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain Lintner while awaiting trial. Shepherd said the woman was a threat to the community by her actions in implying she was armed and making threats to shoot the clerk.
A public defender for Lintner said her client was cooperative with police and that prosecutors “utterly failed” to show Lintner is a danger to the community and that conditions of release could not be imposed.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition to detain Lintner in the Lake County Jail during a detention hearing on January 2.
The judge said Lintner’s actions could have caused people inside the store to panic not knowing whether she was actually armed or not.
Nerheim also said that Lintner, after being denied money from the register, tried opening the register herself and then attempted to steal the clerk’s phone. The judge said no conditions of release could ensure the community’s safety.
Public defenders for Lintner filed a motion for relief with the court — the first step required before the decision can be appealed to the Illinois Second District Appellate Court.
A hearing on the 12-page motion was held on Tuesday where Lintner’s attorneys sought the judge to reverse his decision. Prosecutors objected to Lintner’s release.
Nerheim granted the motion and reversed his prior decision, saying that he failed to consider certain factors required under Illinois law.
He released Lintner, who has no prior convictions, pending trial with conditions that she not possess any weapons, not have contact with the Citgo and be placed on electronic home monitoring.
Lintner is scheduled to appear in court again on January 22 for a status of preliminary hearing.