Bond set for second man charged in robbery of Wheaton cell phone store

Bond was set at $375,000 for a second man allegedly involved in robbing approximately $40,000 worth of merchandise from a Wheaton Sprint store, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office news release.

Stephon Little, 27, of the 1700 block of Autumn Avenue, Schaumburg, appeared Nov. 27 at a bond hearing in front of Judge Jeffrey MacKay, who set the bond. Little has been charged with one count of armed robbery and three counts of aggravated unlawful restraint, according to the release.

Little’s co-defendant, Denzel Furance, 20, of Calumet City, was taken into custody on Nov. 11 and appeared at a bond hearing the following day where MacKay ordered he be held without bond. The state had asked the court to hold Little without bond., the release stated.

At approximately 8:08 p.m. on Nov. 8, Wheaton police responded to an armed robbery at the Sprint store located at 212 Danada Square West. Officers began an investigation and learned that at approximately 7:45 p.m., Little and his co-defendant arrived at the store in a car driven by Little, according to the release.

Furance allegedly entered the store armed with a semi-automatic gun and wearing a mask, medical gloves and a hooded sweatshirt. Little allegedly supplied the weapon to Furance, the release stated.

Once inside the store, Furance reportedly ordered two employees at gunpoint to a back storage room where a third employee was located along with products and the store safe. He ordered one of the victims at gunpoint to bind the wrists and ankles of the other two employees with duct tape, according to the release. Furance then bound the wrists and ankles of the third victim with duct tape, according to the release.

Furance then ordered the employees to open the safe containing electronic devices. He placed approximately 58items from the store into garbage bags he had brought with him. He then covered the mouths and eyes of the three employees with duct tape and exited the store, inadvertently dropping some items on his way out.

Several minutes later, Furance returned to the store to retrieve the items he had previously dropped and fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Little. Little was taken into custody on Nov. 24.

“It is alleged that Mr. Little and his accomplice traveled to DuPage County to commit this crime,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release, “With the holiday shopping season upon us, I want to assure shoppers, employees and store owners that my office, along with our local police departments, will be working around the clock to ensure the safety of all DuPage County establishments and anyone suspected of this type of violent behavior will be arrested, charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Once again, I must commend our officers for their outstanding efforts and persistence in this case,” Wheaton Chief of Police Bill Murphy said in the release. “It is because of their work, Mr. Little finds himself in the same situation as his co-defendant. The professionalism displayed by all those involved allowed us to bring a swift resolution to this incident thus ensuring the safety of our community. I thank the agencies who assisted us with this investigation as well as the State’s Attorney’s Office for their legal guidance.”