Failed Armed Robbery Leads to 20-Year Sentence for Nebraska Man
Fairview Heights, Ill. – An Omaha, Nebraska man pled guilty and was sentenced yesterday to 239 months in prison for attempting to rob a Walgreens in Swansea, Illinois.
According to court documents, on Sept. 15, 2019, Christopher Easterling, 23, entered the Walgreens located at 2532 N. Illinois Street, approached the cashier, brandished a firearm, and said “let’s get this going, babe.” The cashier immediately ran away. After stepping behind the counter and briefly surveying the scene, Easterling left the store without taking anything. He was apprehended minutes later by the Swansea Police Department.
Easterling pled guilty to a three-count indictment charging him with attempted armed robbery of the Walgreens, brandishing a firearm during the crime, and unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon.
In handing down the nearly 20-year sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel noted as aggravating factors that Easterling had committed the offense while on parole for another attempted robbery in Nebraska in 2016, and that he has another robbery conviction from Nebraska in 2014.
Upon his release from prison, Easterling will serve 5 years on supervised release. The ATF and the Swansea Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Reppert prosecuted the case.
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