March 31--A Glendale Heights man pleaded guilty Wednesday in DuPage County court to punching a convenience store clerk before stealing 127 lottery tickets in a 2013 robbery.
Roberto C. Garcia, 33, entered a guilty plea to a felony count of robbery for the incident on March 30, 2013, at the 7-Eleven in the 2100 block of Bloomingdale Road in Glendale Heights. He is due to be sentenced May 19.
According to authorities, Garcia entered the store about 10:30 p.m. and punched the clerk -- a man in his mid-50s -- several times in the face and head. The blows snapped off one of the clerk's teeth and dislodged another, Assistant State's Attorney Shanti Kulkarni said. Garcia then took the lottery scratch tickets and left the store, the prosecutor said.
According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, Garcia, who has also been identified as Robert Garcia, is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for assaulting a Carpentersville police officer, an incident that took place about the same time as the store robbery. Garcia was also convicted in a Glendale Heights bank robbery, which also took place in that time period.
