Man accused of pointing a gun at a store clerk during an armed robbery at a Round Lake Beach store

Prosecutors say a 20-year-old man was caught with a loaded gun in Fox Lake and also robbed a Round Lake Beach convenience store at gunpoint earlier this summer.

Donald Shifflett, 20, of Round Lake Beach, was charged with armed robbery with a firearm, four counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, robbery, burglary and larceny.

Officers with the Fox Lake Police Department witnessed a car rolling through a stop sign around 12:11 a.m. on October 9.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said the driver saw the officer and stopped for a long time before committing another traffic violation.

Officers saw the occupants of the car, which had pulled into a driveway on a cul-de-sac, driving around as they approached during the traffic stop, Shepherd said.

None of the residents lived in the cul-de-sac. Fresh cannabis was smelled from the car.

The occupants were ejected from the car and a backpack containing a semi-automatic handgun with a loaded magazine was found behind the driver’s seat, Shepherd said.

Shepherd said Shifflett was sitting in the front passenger seat within reach of the backpack, which contained items with his name on it.

Shifflett admitted the gun was his and that it had been stolen, Shepherd said. He does not have a concealed carry permit or firearm owner identification card and is under 21 years of age.

Officers suspected the gun was used in an armed robbery that occurred the late afternoon of June 11 at the Express Food and Liquor, 1306 North Cedar Lake Road in Round Lake Beach.

During that incident, officers came to the store and spoke with the cashier and several witnesses, Shepherd said.

The cashier said he was working when the perpetrator, described as a young white male wearing a hoodie and face mask, entered the store and walked down an aisle.

Shepherd said the perpetrator then walked up to the cashier, pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the cashier while demanding money from the register.

A patron witnessed the robbery and said she fled to the bathroom where she called 911, Shepherd said.

The perpetrator jumped over the counter and took the money before fleeing the store.

A Lake County sheriff’s dog responded and followed the suspect’s scent trail.

Shepherd said the trail ended in the 1400 block of Pleasant Drive, where Shifflett lived in an apartment.

Clothing was recovered and video surveillance was reviewed, leading investigators to suspect Shifflett was the perpetrator, Shepherd said.

Cell phone records led Shifflett to the scene at the time of the robbery and to the route the perpetrator allegedly fled, Shepherd said.

Two Lake County judges granted separate petitions to hold Shifflett pending trial in both cases — the gun arrest in Fox Lake and the armed robbery in Round Lake Beach — following detention hearings this month.

Shifflett is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.