5 years in prison for woman who tricked her boyfriend into robbing him at gunpoint by 4 men in North Chicago

A woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for setting a trap for her boyfriend by letting four men – all armed with guns and wearing ski masks – into his North Chicago home to rob him.

Lake County Assistant District Attorney Lillian Lewis said at an initial court hearing that the incident occurred on July 30, 2022 in North Chicago.

The victim told police that he had been in a relationship with 22-year-old Ingrid Villanueva of North Chicago for several years.

Villanueva spent some time at the victim's apartment on the day of the incident and began asking the man for money, Lewis said.

Villanueva began calling and texting unknown people, the victim told police.

Four men showed up at the victim's house and Villanueva let them in, Lewis said.

The men were armed with weapons and wore ski masks.

Lewis said one of the suspects pointed a gun at the victim and told him to sit down and not move or he would kill him.

The suspects began stealing items from the house while the victim was held at gunpoint.

The suspects stole a backpack, Apple AirPods, two PlayStation game consoles and other items.

During the robbery, Villanueva had the victim wire her $200 through CashApp, Lewis said.

The suspects and Villanueva fled in a blue Honda Accord, which was registered to Villanueva.

Officers conducted the investigation and went to a residence in Waukegan.

They received permission to search the apartment and found the victim's backpack and one of the stolen game consoles, Lewis said.

Villanueva and a second person, Javonte Wade, 21, of Waukegan, were arrested after showing up at the apartment.

Villanueva admitted to investigators that she knew the four men involved in the robbery, one of whom was Wade, Lewis said.

She said she went with the four men to the victim's residence and spent some time with her boyfriend before letting the men into the house.

Lewis said Wade admitted to being in the house and stealing one of the game consoles.

Villanueva and Wade were both taken to the Lake County Jail and held on $500,000 bail each. No other suspects are believed to have been charged in the incident.

Villanueva reached a settlement with the Lake County Attorney's Office on Thursday.

She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, in exchange for the dismissal of the more serious charges against her.

According to the plea agreement, Villanueva was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, to be served 50% of the time in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.

The time she spent in custody will also be taken into account.

Robert T. Ritacca, who represents Villanueva, said after Thursday's court hearing that he thought the guilty plea agreement was appropriate.

“Ingrid deserves a second chance and is grateful that she is getting that second chance through these reasonable negotiations,” Ritacca said.

Court records show Wade's case is ongoing. He is scheduled to appear in court again on September 30 to participate in a case conference.