Man who arranged female companion for Woodstock resident, then robbed him in his home, gets 17 years in prison

A Rockford man who police said set up an arrangement between a woman and a Woodstock man that led to a home invasion was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years in prison.

In July, Calvin Jackson, 28, was convicted by a jury of home invasion and armed robbery, Class X felonies, as well as attempted armed robbery, according to an order filed in McHenry County court. He is required to serve 50% of his prison term and will receive credit for 230 days spent in the county jail. When released from prison, he will serve three years of mandatory supervised release, according to the judgment order signed by Judge Justin Hansen.

Jackson was accused along with Carly West, 28, of Loves Park, of arranging for West to go to the man’s Woodstock home for “companionship,” Woodstock police have said. Jackson entered the man’s “home uninvited, threatened him with a dangerous weapon [and] held the victim by threat of deadly force until the victim was able to escape,” according to a judge’s order that Jackson be detained while he awaited trial.

Jackson and West each were accused of entering the man’s home on Verdi Street with a knife and threatening him. West and Jackson also were accused of stealing an Apple iPhone and personal identification documents, according to complaints filed by Woodstock police.

“The victim and West arranged a meeting through electronic means; the victim did not know Jackson,” Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb said after the arrest. “The arrangement was for companionship. There was a ruse when West asked the victim if Jackson could use the restroom. However, Jackson had already surreptitiously entered the residence, and then a struggle ensued.”

In 2017, Jackson was convicted of aggravated vehicular carjacking in Rockford and sentenced to seven years in prison, records show.

West’s case is pending. She also is charged with home invasion, residential burglary and armed robbery and is due in court Oct. 2.

The 74-year-old victim wrote an impact statement that was read in court by Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito during the sentencing hearing. He said he “was attacked by a man with a knife in my home ... a man I had never met who threatened me with a knife and demanded a substantial amount of money.”

The man said he was able to escape his home physically unharmed and that he did not lose any money. However, he did not “escape unharmed.” The incident, he said, has caused him to be nervous and tense when his dog “suddenly starts barking and running to the windows ... in the middle of the night.” He said he has to “get up and check that my doors are secure.”

“My life will never be the same,” he wrote in the letter. “My home will never be the safe place it was. That is now something that is gone forever no matter where I call home.”

A court hearing on the defense motion to reconsider sentencing is set for Oct. 23.