Cook County man sentenced for terrifying armed robberies in 2019
WILL COUNTY - A suburban man was sentenced Thursday for his role in two armed robberies where he and his accomplices terrified the victims for hours.
On Nov. 16, 2019, Dontavious Harvey – along with two other individuals – approached a woman who was withdrawing money from a Chase Bank ATM on LaGrange Road in Frankfort around 5:45 a.m. Prosecutors say the group – who apparently were armed with a gun – first took the woman's phone and credit card, and then withdrew money from her bank account.
Two of the offenders then took the woman and her car, and for three hours, engaged in an armed robbery spree in which they purchased items at numerous stores in the south suburbs by taking cash withdrawals from the victim's accounts, according to prosecutors.
The offenders then abandoned the woman and her car in Chicago before fleeing the scene in a separate vehicle.
In total, $8,900 was taken from the victim's accounts.
"The abject terror she endured cannot be described," Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said. "One can hardly imagine the depths of despair that she reached during this excruciating ordeal, not knowing if she was going to live or die."
Nearly two weeks later, Harvey – along with other offenders – approached a man in New Lenox around 6 a.m. as he walked to his car parked in his driveway. While wearing masks and believed to be carrying a gun, the group demanded the man's debit card before forcing him into a vehicle and for the next four hours, kept the victim covered with a jacket as they made purchases in the south suburbs and northwest Indiana via cash advances, according to prosecutors.
Eventually, the man's bank closed his account, which is when the offenders abandoned the victim along the expressway in Hammond, Indiana.
"To be a victim of an armed robbery and then taken in a car by the thugs who robbed you, driven around for hours, and left on the side of a road in a different town is a life-altering experience that this victim must now live with every day," Glasgow said. "This callous and morally bankrupt behavior is demonstrative of an abandoned and malignant soul. They are bereft of basic humanity."
Dontavious Harvey
On Thursday, 24-year-old Harvey, of Dolton, was sentenced to 32 years in prison — 30 years for the armed robberies and two years for beating a fellow inmate at the Will County Detention Center. He will also serve 18 months of mandatory supervised release once he gets out of prison.
"The victims in these horrific crimes endured indescribable terror at the hands of Harvey and his fellow perpetrators," Glasgow said. "Innocent, law-abiding citizens not only suffered the horror of a brutal armed robbery, but also experienced the unimaginable fear of not knowing whether they would live or die while these armed and dangerous criminals continued their violent robbery spree in other communities. Harvey’s actions demonstrate his utter lack of humanity."