Man receives 18 years in 2017 armed robbery

A three-time felon will spend 10 years in prison for a 2017 drug deal in which a group of people were beaten and threatened with a gun.

Brian Odell of Hanover Park offered an apology in court Friday and asked the judge to show mercy while ordering his sentence for armed robbery and armed violence, adding that he “regrets even leaving the house that night.”

“I now realize that I have to be held accountable for the stupid and selfish decisions that I made,” Odell said. “I knew better, and I know better.”

A drug deal planned for June 28 at a home on Throop Street in Woodstock took a turn when Odell and an unidentified accomplice attacked the "dealer" and his three friends, said prosecutors, who asked for the maximum 30-year sentence.

During the attack, a woman was locked in the bathroom and a man broke his hand. Victims who called 911 told the operator that someone was holding a gun to their friend’s head.

A jury convicted Odell of the felony charges during a Jan. 22 trial.

In 2009, Odell was accused of locking a 17-year-old girl in a bathroom and forcing a shotgun in her mouth. The case ended in 2011, when Odell pleaded guilty to manufacturing and delivering cocaine and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

His criminal history also includes a 14-year sentence for second-degree murder in Kane County.

“He certainly has indicated he cannot conform his conduct to the [mandates] of society and live a peaceful, law-abiding life,” McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather said.

Odell’s mother, Karon Motley Crosswell, told Prather that her son was just beginning to steer his life in a better direction by speaking to single parents about keeping their kids out of prison.

“He’s using his experience to give indications of how these kids can stay out of the jail system,” Motley Crosswell said.