Teen pistol-whipped in premeditated park robbery in Vernon Hills, three charged

Three suspects have been charged after a 16-year-old was beaten and pistol-whipped in a park robbery in Vernon Hills, Illinois. A fourth accomplice remains outstanding.

Three charged after teen pistol-whipped in Vernon Hills park robbery

Three men have been arrested and charged following a violent robbery at Century Park in Vernon Hills, Illinois, in which a 16-year-old boy was beaten, pistol-whipped and left bleeding from a serious head wound, lakemchenryscanner.com reports. A fourth suspect remains outstanding.

Anthony Watson, 20, of Vernon Hills; Cesar Santos, 18, of Waukegan; and Charles Lynch, 18, of Lake Villa, each face charges of armed robbery, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, aggravated battery in a public place, and theft under $500.

Vernon Hills Police responded at around 4 p.m. Thursday to the Vernon Hills Park District maintenance building at 1400 Indianwood Drive after a report of an armed robbery. Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Monica Lamphere said the robbery itself took place at Century Park, located near the maintenance building.

The victim went to the park with a friend, who was in fact an accomplice in the crime, ostensibly to smoke cannabis. The friend told the victim that several other individuals would be joining them. Lynch, Santos and Watson then arrived as a group.

Lynch struck the victim first, and when the teenager tried to fight back, the others joined the attack, Lamphere said. Santos pistol-whipped the 16-year-old in the head multiple times. The victim, bleeding heavily, managed to reach the park district building, where an employee called for first responders. The Countryside Fire Protection District treated him at the scene before he was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he received 11 stitches.

The group — including the victim's friend — fled the scene in a gray 2016 Dodge Charger, later identified as belonging to Lynch's father. An alert broadcast to area law enforcement agencies described at least three male suspects leaving in the vehicle, which was last seen northbound on Route 21 from Cater Lane in Libertyville. The suspects took the victim's backpack, which contained between $150 and $200 and a replica gun.

Officers located Lynch at his home in Lake Villa and brought him in for questioning. He told investigators the robbery had been planned in advance: the victim had been posting images of guns and money on Snapchat, which prompted the group — with the help of the victim's friend — to target him. Messages found on Lynch's phone between the suspects referenced bringing a firearm to the robbery, Lamphere said.

Lynch also told investigators that Santos had carried out the pistol-whipping, though no firearm was found in Santos' possession at the time of his arrest. Santos did not provide a statement to police.

All three — Lynch, Watson and Santos — remain held at Lake County Jail. The Lake County State's Attorney's Office has filed petitions to detain them pending trial, and all three are scheduled to appear at a detention hearing Monday afternoon. The fourth suspect, identified as the victim's friend who set up the robbery, has not yet been charged.

Source: Google News TC — Crime