Aurora Man Gets 22 Years For Armed Robbery At Lisle Verizon Store

LISLE, IL — An Aurora man was sentenced to 22 years in connection with the armed robbery of a Lisle Verizon store in 2020. During the robbery, an employee was bound with zip ties and several cellphones were stolen at gunpoint.

Arron Thompson, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery with a firearm. His cousin and co-defendant, Ezekiel Thompson, will appear in court Friday for a status hearing.

On Feb. 1, 2020, Lisle police were called to the Verizon store at 1104 Ogden Ave. just before 7 p.m. for a report of an armed robbery. Police say the Thompsons came into the store around 6:30 p.m. and wearing hoods and masks.

They were accused of pointing a gun at an employee and forcing them to open the store's vault. Once inside the vault, police say the Thompsons forced the employee to fill a duffel bag with cellphones. They are then accused of restraining the employee with zip ties before taking his keys and wallet and fleeing the scene in his car.

Both Arron and Ezekiel Thompson were spotted in a Woodridge parking lot shortly after the robbery and taken into custody.

"It is alleged that without care or concern for the rule of law, Arron Thompson and his cousin armed themselves with a gun, disguised their identity and threatened at gunpoint an innocent store employee to the point of forcing the employee to literally beg for his life,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Berlin added, “I cannot begin to imagine the fear that employee must have experienced as he looked down the barrel of a loaded gun. This type of violent crime must be met head on and through the cooperative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies including the Lisle, Woodridge, Downers Grove and Darien Police Departments, Arron Thompson was taken into custody.