Chicago man, suburban accomplice sentenced for terrifying armed robberies in 2019
WILL COUNTY - A Chicago man and suburban man were sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to two armed robberies where they terrified the victims for hours.
On Nov. 16, 2019, Justin Brown and Terwon Matthews – along with two other individuals – approached a woman who was withdrawing money from a Chase Bank ATM on LaGrange Road in Frankfort around 5:45 a.m. Prosecutors say the group – who apparently were armed with a gun – first took the woman's phone and credit card, and then withdrew money from her bank account.
Two of the offenders then took the woman and her car, and for three hours, engaged in an armed robbery spree in which they purchased items at numerous stores in the south suburbs by taking cash withdrawals from the victim's accounts, according to prosecutors.
The offenders then abandoned the woman and her car in Chicago before fleeing the scene in a separate vehicle.
In total, $8,900 was taken from the victim's accounts.
SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 CHICAGO ON YOUTUBE
"The abject terror she endured cannot be described," Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said. "One can hardly imagine the depths of despair that she reached during this excruciating ordeal, not knowing if she was going to live or die."
Nearly two weeks later, Brown and Matthews – along with other offenders – approached a man in New Lenox around 6 a.m. as he walked to his car parked in his driveway. While wearing masks and believed to be carrying a gun, the group demanded the man's debit card before forcing him into a vehicle and for the next four hours, kept the victim covered with a jacket as they made purchases in the south suburbs and northwest Indiana via cash advances, according to prosecutors.
Eventually, the man's bank closed his account, which is when the offenders abandoned the victim along the expressway in Hammond, Indiana.
Justin Brown and Terwon Matthews | Provided
"To be a victim of an armed robbery and then taken in a car by the thugs who robbed you, driven around for hours, and left on the side of a road in a different town is a life-altering experience that this victim must now live with every day," Glasgow said. "This callous and morally bankrupt behavior is demonstrative of an abandoned and malignant soul. They are bereft of basic humanity."
On Monday, 24-year-old Brown, of Park Forest, and 25-year-old Matthews, of Chicago, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. They will also serve 18 months of mandatory supervised release once their prison sentences are completed.