Prosecutors say a 19-year-old man robbed a victim at gunpoint during an online sale meetup in Round Lake Beach and then posted himself on social media wearing the stolen clothes.
Alton Q. Pittman, 19, who police said was from Waukegan and the sheriff said was from Round Lake, was charged with one count of armed robbery with a firearm, a Class X felony.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said Pittman contacted another person through Snapchat after seeing the person was selling a set of pants on social media.
The buy was set to take place at the victim’s residence on January 24 and Pittman again contacted the victim on January 29 to purchase three shirts, valued at $250, from the victim at his residence, Shanley-Roberts said.
The victim reported that he came downstairs to meet with the buyer in the parking lot around 5:30 p.m. on January 29 in the 1500 block of Spring Brook Court in Round Lake Beach.
Shanley-Roberts said Pittman was the sole occupant of the Chrysler 200 and stayed in his car while the victim handed the clothes to him.
Pittman counted cash while still seated in his car and then reached across to pull out a black pistol, brandishing it to the victim, Shanley-Roberts said.
The victim retreated and Pittman drove off with the clothes and the cash, Shanley-Roberts said.
The victim took a photo of Pittman’s license plate and officers broadcast an alert to area law enforcement about the robbery.
Shanley-Roberts said Pittman posted on Snapchat a photo of himself wearing one of the stolen shirts after the robbery and the victim, who still had Pittman added as a friend on Snapchat, showed police.
The handle of a black semi-automatic pistol was also seen next to Pittman, Shanley-Roberts said.
The Chrysler driven by Pittman was registered to his sister, who was shown a photo of him wearing the stolen shirt and identified him.
Police in Racine, Wisconsin, stopped the Chrysler and officers recovered a bag of clothes from the vehicle, which included all three shirts stolen during the Round Lake Beach robbery, Shanley-Roberts said.
Pittman told officers during an interview that he purchased clothes from the victim before but said it was a sweatshirt.
He said that he was going to purchase a hoodie from the victim on January 29 but the victim wanted an additional $50 than what Pittman paid, Shanley-Roberts said.
When detectives mentioned a gun being involved, Pittman described the gun as a black Glock 19 with a short, standard magazine, which he said was registered to his cousin, Shanley-Roberts said.
He denied possessing the gun or it being present with him in the car. He later changed his story and said his cousin was in the car with him for the buy and that the victim saw his cousin with the gun, not him, Shanley-Roberts said.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Pittman the day after the robbery and he was later taken into custody.
A petition to detain him pending trial was filed by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office but a judge denied the request and allowed Pittman to be released.
Pittman was placed on Level 4 pre-trial services monitoring, ordered not to possess firearms and have no contact with the victim or his residence.
Pittman is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.