1. Claim to have a gun, but don’t 2. Rob a store.

 

A Waukegan man is in stable condition after being shot by the store owner he is charged with robbing.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patricia Fix said officials are reviewing the details of the Sunday night shooting of Demitrius Newbill, 29. Newbill, who was shot in the chest, is at Vista East Medical Center.

Fix said Newbill, of the 500 block of Poplar Street, entered the Pasteleria Panaderia, 701 Yeoman St., about 8:15 p.m. The owner of the bakery told police Newbill had his left hand under his shirt and asked for a piece of paper and a pencil, Fix said.

Newbill wrote a note that said: “I have a gun. Give me all the money,” and handed it to the owner, Fix said.

The owner gave Newbill all the cash in the register, Fix said, and told police he believed he saw a gun in Newbill’s waistband as he did so.

Newbill then took the business telephone and cell phones from the owner and his employees, Fix said, and began backing toward the door of the store.

The owner told police he thought he saw Newbill reaching for the object in his waistband as he neared the door, so he took a .38 caliber revolver from underneath the counter and fired three times.

Police interviewed Newbill at the hospital, Fix said, and he admitted the robbery and that he told the store owner he had a gun.

Newbill, who was unarmed, has been charged with aggravated robbery and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Fix said police reports and witness statements are being reviewed to determine if anyone else will be charged.

The store owner has a current state firearm owner’s identification card, Fix said.

Court records show Newbill was convicted of robbery in 2003 and placed on probation, but he was found in violation of the probation and resentenced to five years in prison.