A suspect is facing a slew of charges, including kidnapping, after prosecutors say he was armed with a machete and tied up a clerk during a robbery at a store in Mundelein.
Lexarez L. Beles, 43, of Highwood, was charged with armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping while armed, aggravated kidnapping while concealing identity and aggravated unlawful restraint.
The Mundelein Police Department responded around 3 a.m. on January 11 to an armed robbery at Speedway, 505 Townline Road.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said the overnight store clerk observed a man come into the store while wearing a ski mask balaclava.
The man, later identified as Beles, went to the ATM and withdrew $20, McConnell said. He paid for a bottle of water and asked the clerk to make him a pizza, which he paid for.
The clerk noticed that the man was wearing blue latex gloves under his winter gloves and he appeared to be altering his voice to disguise it.
The pizza was not available and the clerk had to go to the back where the frozen pizza was kept.
McConnell said it is not commonly known that a customer can request a pizza to be made for them at Speedway at any time.
The prosecutor said it is common knowledge for those familiar with Speedway operations that 3-4 a.m. is a dead zone for business and the clerk cleans during that time before it gets busy again around 4 a.m.
Surveillance video showed the suspect locking the front door of the business and following the clerk into the backroom while armed with a machete.
McConnell said Beles raised the machete and told the clerk, “Don’t make me kill you.”
Beles cut a cord and attempted to tie up the clerk but he was unsuccessful and ran to the front counter before coming back with mailing tape, McConnell said.
He taped up the clerk’s hands and dragged him by his feet to a nearby table where he tried to tie him to the table with the cord, McConnell said.
McConnell said Beles asked the clerk where the keys to the lottery self-service kiosk were but the clerk said the manager had those.
Beles ran to the front counter and found hidden keys to open the manager’s office, McConnell said. He then opened a lockbox where the two unlabeled keys to the lottery kiosk were kept.
McConnell said only someone with close knowledge of Speedway would know where the manager’s keys were and that the lottery kiosk required two keys to unlock.
The suspect left the clerk in the backroom and he could hear the alarm activating at the lottery kiosk.
The clerk was able to escape from the bondage and tried running to the panic button but tripped before he could reach it.
Beles ran into the backroom and raised the machete up standing over the clerk who was on the ground on his back “in terror of being struck” by the machete, McConnell said.
McConnell said Beles, using his real voice which the clerk recognized, asked the clerk if he had activated the panic button.
The clerk lied and said he had activated it, which caused Beles to run back out to the front counter.
The clerk was then able to activate the panic button and Beles ran back into the backroom holding lottery tickets and punched the victim in the face before fleeing the scene, McConnell said.
McConnell said Beles was previously fired from working at the Speedway for stealing lottery tickets, cigarettes and “misplacing” a lottery kiosk key.
Court records show an arrest warrant was issued for Beles on January 29 and he was taken into custody on February 2.
Beles faces several non-probationable Class X felony charges which carry sentencing enhancements that could result in a sentence of up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition filed by prosecutors to detain Beles pending trial.
Beles, who remains held in the Lake County Jail, is scheduled to appear in court again on February 25 for a preliminary hearing.