Santa Hat-Wearing Robber Gets 5 Years For Aggravated Robbery

AURORA, IL — An Aurora man who stole $300 two years ago from a business in Montgomery was sentenced to 5 years in prison on an aggravated robbery charge.

The Kendall County State's Attorney's Office announced 26-year-old Quintez Smith-Stewart's term Wednesday after he was sentenced earlier in December. The case stems from December 2022 when Montgomery police were dispatched for a robbery at a retailer on Douglas Road.

A cashier had been approached by a man wearing a Santa hat pulled over his face, threatening her harm if she didn't open the register. The cashier complied due to the threat, and the thief left with about $300, officials said.

The man then fled the store in a car that had been reported stolen.

Montgomery officers found the car with the Santa hat still inside, and the hat was processed for evidence by the Illinois State Police Forensic Services Division. The DNA recovered from the hat identified Smith-Stewart as the culprit, according to a news release.

The man was later arrested on a warrant and taken into custody to await trial.

"Smith-Stewart had a different interpretation of the holiday spirit when he used a Santa hat to steal money from a local business owner," State's Attorney Eric Weis said in a statement. "It is fitting that he will spend several Christmas holidays in prison as a result of his criminal actions."

Smith-Stewart will be required to serve one year of mandatory supervised release once he gets out of prison.