2 Men Charged In Speedway Robbery: New Lenox PD

NEW LENOX, IL — A Lockport man and New Lenox man face charges of armed robbery and burglary, after an investigation following an armed robbery at a gas station in New Lenox in April.

Joseph B. Weber, 28, of the 300 block of Madison Street in Lockport, and Robert J. Redman, 26, of the 400 block of Root Street in New Lenox have both been arrested in connection with the robbery. Weber is charged with armed robbery and burglary. Redman is charged with robbery and burglary.

The charges stem from an investigation of the April 22 armed robbery at a Speedway gas station, 939 S. Cedar Road in New Lenox. The robbers targeted an employee who was behind the counter at the gas station, police said.

On April 22, at 1:20 a.m., the New Lenox Police Department responded to an armed robbery call at the Speedway Gas Station. Responding officers learned that a male suspect wearing a yellow bandana covering his face approached the lone female victim while armed with a screwdriver. The man demanded money from the register and fled after taking approximately $100 from the employee. An investigation into the robbery began immediately.

Officers obtained surveillance video from a neighboring business and saw the offender run to a waiting dark-colored sedan being driven by another individual. The same day, New Lenox police investigators learned that a Speedway in Lockport was robbed by a suspect with similar characteristics as the offender in the New Lenox armed robbery. New Lenox police began working with the Lockport police, and an investigation continued.

On May 4, a 7-Eleven in Joliet was also robbed, and Joliet police were able to arrest the suspect, identified as Weber, shortly after the crime. He was taken into custody in a maroon-colored Buick LeSabre sedan, which was occupied by Redman and a third individual, and the investigation remained open.

On July 10, the NLPD obtained arrest warrants for Weber and Redman. Through the course of the investigation, officials said they learned that Weber was the robber wearing the yellow bandana and committed the robbery with the screwdriver.

The investigation also revealed that Redman assisted in the robbery as the driver of the waiting dark-colored sedan.

"The cooperation we receive, and hardline stance against violent offenders taken by Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and his team, benefit all the residents of Will County," said Mayor Tim Baldermann. "With an incredible police department and our State’s Attorney, the people of New Lenox can feel well served."

Weber remains in custody at the Will County Adult Detention Facility following the Joliet police arrest on May 4. In addition to being charged in connection to the New Lenox and Joliet robberies, Weber faces charges in Lockport of two counts of armed robbery, two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and two counts of burglary without causing damage, police said. Weber is being held on $750,000 bond with 10 percent to apply. Redman was arrested by Joliet police on July 17.