30 Years For Man In New Lenox, Frankfort Armed Robberies, Abductions

JOLIET, IL — A Dolton man was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for his part in two armed robberies in which victims were held captive as the perpetrators went on a crime spree.

Dontavious Harvey, 24, previously pleaded guilty to the crimes, committed a little more than a week apart in November 2019. Harvey is the third to be sentenced in the crimes; two others were also sentenced last month to 30 years each.

On Nov. 16, 2019, Harvey, along with two other perpetrators, confronted a woman who was attempting to withdraw money at about 5:45 a.m. from a Chase Bank ATM on LaGrange Road in Frankfort. After blocking the victim’s car by cutting in front of her, the two, who appeared to have a gun, first took the victim’s phone and credit card, then withdrew money from the ATM.

Two of the perpetrators entered the woman's car and, for a more than three-hour period, engaged in an armed robbery spree during which they purchased items at various stores in the south suburbs by taking cash withdrawals from the victim’s accounts while she remained in the car. The men then drove the woman into Chicago, where they abandoned the victim and her car, fleeing in a separate vehicle occupied by other offenders. A total of $8,900 was taken from the woman's accounts.

Thirteen days later, on Nov. 29, 2019, Harvey and other offenders accosted a male victim in New Lenox at about 6 a.m., as he was walking to his car parked in his driveway, Glasgow said.

The defendants, while masked and believed to be carrying a gun, confronted the victim in his driveway and demanded his debit card. They then placed him in the car they arrived in and for the next four hours kept him covered with a jacket while they engaged in an armed robbery spree, Glasgow said, making purchases in the south suburbs and northwest Indiana area and taking cash advances. After the victim’s bank closed the account, the defendants dropped the victim off along the expressway in Hammond, Indiana.

"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."

Harvey also pleaded guilty to an aggravated battery of a fellow inmate at the Will County Detention Center on May 9, 2022, and will serve two years in prison for that offense. He will receive 1,388 days credit for time served in the armed robbery case, and 515 days credit in the aggravated battery matter. He also will serve 18 months mandatory supervised release after completion of his sentence, which will be served at 50 percent.