July 29--A judge set bail Wednesday afternoon at $300,000 for a 17-year-old boy charged with robbing a 7-Eleven at gunpoint.
Eddie Boens, 17, was led into the courtroom with his wrists and ankles shackled together with a long silver chain. He appeared before Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Sheriff's deputies told the judge that the shackles on Boens were for "safety reasons."
Boens, who is charged with armed robbery with a firearm, is accused of entering a 7-Eleven with at least one other person at 2020 N. California Ave. at 10:48 p.m. July 27, said Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Keating.
"This defendant pointed a gun at male customers" as the other person ordered a staffer to open the register and give them cash, Keating told the judge.
They took $68 in cash and 15 to 20 boxes of cigarettes and fled, prosecutors said. Video captured the July 27 robbery, and Boens was arrested the next day.
Other victims included a 23-year-old woman holding her 3-year-daughter, and a 19-year-old woman, Keating said.
Keating said Boens has a juvenile background of possession of a controlled substance from February 2014 and at least one other armed robbery during which he struck the victim with a rock during the attack, according to prosecutors.
His defense attorney said Boens is a lifelong resident of Chicago, lives with his mother and siblings, and has earned his GED certificate.
He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 18 for a preliminary hearing.
