Elgin man gets 25 years in prison for gas station armed robbery

On Tuesday, a 30-year-old Elgin man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for robbing a gas station while armed with a gun.

On May 1, 2019, Jeffrey Richardson entered the Citgo gas station located in the 1500 block of Larkin Avenue in Elgin around 9 p.m., Kane County Assistant State’s Attorneys Joseph Cullen and Hannah Thayer said.

Once inside, Richardson pulled out a loaded handgun and robbed the clerk of $1,240. He then fled on foot and hid the gun in a bush less than 200 feet from the Larkin High School parking lot.

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Minutes later, Elgin police officers located Richardson hiding in the backyard of a home less than a mile from where the robbery occurred.

Richardson’s loaded pistol remained hidden in the bush for 10 months until the homeowner found it.

"When he was arrested, he had a large tattoo on his neck which proclaimed, ‘Live by the gun Die by the gun.’ He will now serve a long prison sentence because he [chose] to live by the gun," Thayer said.

A Kane County jury on March 19, 2021 found Richardson guilty of armed robbery with a firearm – which is a Class X felony.

Jeffrey Richardson, 30