Chicago Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Armed Robbery Spree Targeting Cell Phone Stores, Including Rockford

ROCKFORD, Ill. — A Chicago man has been sentenced to a quarter-century in federal prison for his involvement in a series of armed robberies at cellular phone stores throughout Illinois, including a location in Rockford.

Johnathan Byars, 26, of Chicago, received a 25-year prison sentence on July 16, 2024, in federal court. The sentencing comes after Byars and a group of co-conspirators targeted multiple mobile service retailers during a coordinated crime spree spanning 2019 and 2020.

Federal prosecutors stated that Byars and his accomplices entered retail stores under the guise of customers before brandishing firearms to terrorize store employees. The group bound or corralled workers, physically assaulted them, and stole cash, high-end smartphones, and other valuable electronics from the safes and display cases. One of the key locations hit during the multi-city rampage was a cell phone store in Rockford, Illinois.

In addition to the Rockford robbery, the group was linked to similar armed robberies and attempted robberies in several other Illinois municipalities, including Lansing, Bloomington, Joliet, Coal City, Mokena, Aurora, and Woodridge. The joint investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with assistance from the Rockford Police Department and other local agencies.

At the sentencing hearing, the federal judge emphasized the traumatic impact of the robberies on the young store employees, many of whom were held at gunpoint. Byars was ordered to serve his 300-month sentence in a federal penitentiary, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victimized businesses.