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Chicago man gets 25 years for armed gas station robbery, high-speed chase: prosecutors

By Cody King
Published  June 12, 2025 8:02pm CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 32 Chicago

The Brief

    • Willie Carter, 25, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to armed robbery with a firearm; he had been out on parole for less than two months for a prior armed robbery.
    • The robbery occurred Jan. 30 at a Speedway gas station in Addison, where Carter and a co-defendant allegedly held a clerk and customer at gunpoint before fleeing and leading police on a high-speed chase.
    • A loaded Glock with an extended magazine was found in the suspects' vehicle, and DuPage County prosecutors say the sentence reflects zero tolerance for violent crimes targeting innocent workers.

ADDISON, Ill. - A Chicago man accused of robbing a suburban gas station at gunpoint was sentenced to 25 years in prison, prosecutors said.

What we know:

Willie Carter, 25, pleaded guilty March 13 to one count of armed robbery with a firearm, a Class X felony, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. 

Carter had been out on parole for less than two months for a previous armed robbery when he committed the latest offense.

The state asked for a 40-year sentence within the sentencing range of 21 to 60 years. Carter has been held at the DuPage County Jail since his first court appearance on Jan. 31, where the court granted the state’s motion to detain him pretrial.

Carter’s co-defendant, Anton Stephens, 25, faces three counts of armed robbery with a firearm, one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer. Stephens remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court July 22.

(From left) Pictured is Willie Carter and Anton Stephens. (DuPage County State's Attorney )

The backstory:

The charges stem from a Jan. 30 incident at a Speedway gas station in Addison. Police said a Villa Park officer spotted a vehicle suspected of being involved in an earlier armed robbery and followed it onto I-290 and then Lake Street.

Two men identified as Carter and Stephens entered the gas station. Prosecutors said one man stuffed cigarettes into a garbage bag while the other held a gun to a female clerk, demanding she open the cash register. The clerk was unable to comply because the register was rebooting.

A male customer entered the store during the robbery and was ordered to the floor at gunpoint, the state's attorney said. One suspect allegedly stole the customer’s wallet.

The suspects then fled in their vehicle, sparking a high-speed chase involving about 20 police vehicles from multiple jurisdictions. 

The chase reached speeds of over 100 mph and ended when the suspects crashed into a marked police car and fled on foot. Both were arrested within blocks of the crash, prosecutors said.

Police found a loaded Glock 22 pistol with an extended magazine in the vehicle.

What they're saying:

"Mr. Carter’s twenty-five-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections sends a loud and clear message that robbing at gunpoint an innocent person who was working the midnight shift trying to make an honest living will not be tolerated in DuPage County," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. "There is no place in civilized society for Mr. Carter’s behavior and today’s sentence ensures Mr. Carter will be unable to prey upon society for a significant amount of time. I thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Denis Cahil and Kristin Sullivan for their work in holding Mr. Carter responsible for his criminal actions."

The Source

  • The information in this article was provided by the DuPage County State's Attorney. 

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