Prosecutors say a Waukegan man, who was on probation in a violent armed robbery, robbed a woman of her phone while threatening to “blast her” in Zion.
The Zion Police Department responded around 6:20 p.m. on March 11 to the 2100 block of Bethesda Boulevard in Zion for a report of an armed robbery.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said the mother of a 20-year-old victim called 911 to report the incident.
Officers learned that the victim and Isack A. Woods, 18, of Waukegan, who is the victim’s sister’s friend, were both arrested the night prior in Lincolnshire.
The victim’s duffel bag, which had two key fobs belonging to her car valued at $650, was left in Woods’ car.
The woman went to retrieve her duffel bag from Woods’ car but realized the key fobs were missing, Cannon said.
Cannon said the woman took Woods’ phone from his car “as collateral” and the two began texting, with Woods agreeing to give her back her key fobs for his wallet.
The victim went into the alley near her home when Woods and two other men showed up and approached her.
A verbal argument began between Woods and the victim over money that was reportedly missing from Woods’ wallet, Cannon said.
Cannon said Woods began pushing the woman around and he at one point allegedly made a statement to the woman that he “was gonna blast her.”
The two began struggling for the woman’s iPhone 14 Pro, valued at $1,200, and Woods stole it from her and fled, Cannon said.
Responding officers saw Woods’ Toyota leaving the area and they arrested him. He still had the woman’s two key fobs and admitted he had the woman’s phone but denied knowing where it was, Cannon said.
Cannon said one of the subjects who was with Woods texted the victim after the incident and told her they were going to dump the phone in a recycling machine.
Woods was on second-chance probation at the time stemming from an armed robbery that occurred in Round Lake in May 2024.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said that incident involved a different victim who reported he was jumped by Woods and three others.
Woods flashed a gun, punched and struck the victim multiple times and stole the victim’s phone, Shanley-Roberts said.
Court records show Woods pleaded guilty to one count of theft, a Class 3 felony, in that case in July 2024 and received 18 months of second-chance probation and electronic home monitoring.
“The potential consequences of forfeiting second chance probation did nothing to deter him from engaging in similar, forceful, threatening behavior,” Cannon said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Woods pending trial in the new case and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition during a detention hearing.
Woods is scheduled to appear in court again on April 1 for a preliminary hearing.