Crime & Safety

Grayslake Man Faces Federal Charges for Armed Robberies in Lake, Cook Counties

LeRoy Regan was charged in federal court this past week. Police say he robbed convenience and retail stores in August getting away with $1,700.

A Grayslake now faces federal charges after police said he committed eight armed robberies over 10 days last August at retail stores across Lake County and northern Cook County. 

LeRoy Regan, also known as " Outlaw," initially faced state charges filed in Lake County following his arrest last summer, but was indicted on federal charges this week after the case was adopted from the state under the umbrella of Project Safe Neighborhoods, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. 

Regan, 38, was charged with eight counts of robbery and eight counts of brandishing or discharging a firearm in a 16-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on Tuesday.

In one of the robberies, shots were fired from the getaway car, but no one was injured. He is accused of getting away with $1,700, according to the news release.

Regan, who is federal custody without bond, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, who set a trial for Oct. 20.  If convicted of a single gun count, Regan faces a maximum of life imprisonment.  

A second defendant in the case, Jeffrey Valentine, of Chicago, was charged for his involvement in the last of the eight robberies, which occurred at a 7-11 in Wilmette on Aug. 15, according to the press release.     
      
Valentine, also known as “Goldie,” 31, of Chicago, is currently in state custody and was charged with one count of robbery.  He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 3 in U.S. District Court.       

According to court records, in each of the robberies, the suspect entered the store wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head and brandishing a handgun. 

After taking money from the cash register, the robber fled the store.        

The indictment alleges that Regan committed the following robberies in August 2013:        

  • Aug. 5: Dollar General store, 1917 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in North Chicago
  • Aug. 6: Family Dollar store, 1701 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in North Chicago, approximately $131 stolen
  • Aug. 8: Citgo gas station, 2135 Green Bay Rd. in Waukegan, approximately $300 
  • Aug. 8: Taco Bell restaurant, 3200 North Lewis Ave. in Waukegan, approximately $180; two customers were shot at from a fleeing vehicle as they attempted to get the license plate of the auto
  • Aug. 11: 7-11 store, 37763 North Green bay Road in Beach Park, approximately $422
  • Aug. 12: Thornton’s gas station, 55 Skokie Valley Road in Highland Park, approximately $145 
  • Aug. 14: Family Dollar store, 1106 Washington St. in Waukegan, approximately $398 stolen
  • Aug. 15: 7-11 store, 500 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette, approximately $160 and six to eight cartons of cigarettes stolen 
Regan was arrested in Waukegan on Aug. 17 following an intensive investigation by the Waukegan and Wilmette police departments. 

The Highland Park Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department also assisted in the investigation, which was joined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, leading to the federal charges.       

Each count of robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Each count of brandishing a firearm carries a consecutive, mandatory minimum of seven years (10 years on the charge of discharging a firearm) in prison and a maximum of life on any one count, and conviction on one or more subsequent gun counts carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years consecutive to any other sentence imposed. 


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