Cook County Man Sentenced to 23 Years for Robbing at Gunpoint Wheaton Sprint Store

On July 18, 2023, Furance entered a plea of guilty to one count of Armed Robbery with a Firearm, a Class X Felony. On Nov. 12, 2019, Furance appeared in Bond Court where he was ordered to be held without bond. He has remained in custody since that time at the DuPage County Jail. Because Furance was armed with a gun, he faced an automatic 15-year enhancement to his sentence. Furance faced a sentence of between 21 to 45 years in the IDOC. The State had requested a sentence of 40 years.

At approximately 8:08 p.m., Nov. 8, 2019, Wheaton Police officers responded to a call of an armed robbery at the Sprint store located at 212 Danada Square West. Through their investigation, offices learned that at approximately 7:45 p.m. that evening Furance entered the store armed with a semi-automatic weapon and wearing a mask, medical gloves and a hooded sweatshirt.

Once inside the store, Furance ordered two employees at gunpoint to a back storage room where a third employee was located along with products and the store safe. Furance then ordered one of the victims at gunpoint to bind the wrists and ankles of the other two employees with duct tape. He then bound the wrists and ankles of the third victim with duct tape. Furance then ordered the employees to open the safe containing electronic devices. Once the safe was opened, Furance stole approximately 58 items from the store, placing the items 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, he returned to the store to retrieve the items he had previously dropped and then fled the scene.

Furance was apprehended in Lansing, Ill. on Nov. 9, 2019. The case against Furance's co-defendant, Stephon Little, is currently pending with a next court date of Feb. 26, 2024.

"The Wheaton Police Department works tirelessly to keep Wheaton a safe place to live, work, and raise a family," said Wheaton Police Chief Princeton J. Youker. "If you come to Wheaton with ill intent, you will surely meet the consummate professionals of the Wheaton Police Department, as Mr. Furance discovered in 2019. I would like to acknowledge the excellent response of our patrol officers and the dedicated work of our detectives in this serious felonious case. I would also like to thank everyone at State's Attorney Robert Berlin's Office for their hard work to ensure Mr. Furance will not return to Wheaton anytime soon."

"With their hands and feet bound and their eyes and mouths covered with duct tape, I cannot even begin to imagine the terror these innocent employees must have felt," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Violent gun crimes have no place in society, and my office stands ready to bring the full force and effect of the law upon anyone who commits this type of brazen criminal conduct. We are all thankful none of the employees were physically injured, and it is my hope that with today's sentence, the survivors of this crime will be able to continue their lives feeling safer knowing that the man who terrorized them has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars. I thank Assistant State's Attorneys Matthew Dambach and Robert Willis for their efforts in holding Mr. Furance responsible for his actions."

Denzel Furance