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Last Of Serial Pizzeria Robbers Sentenced

WHEATON, Ill. (STMW) -- The third of three area men charged in a 14-month-long series of pizzeria robberies in Naperville and nearby communities has been sentenced to prison.

Josiah C. McCroskey, 23, who last lived in Lisle, has been sentenced to six years in prison for the Jan. 30, 2011 holdup of a Domino's Pizza outlet at 10410 Route 83 in Willowbrook.

Paul Darrah, spokesman for DuPage County State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin, confirmed McCroskey entered a blind plea of guilty to a felony charge of aggravated robbery.

DuPage County Circuit Court Judge George J. Bakalis on Friday accepted McCroskey's plea and imposed the six-year prison term, Darrah said.

Bakalis gave McCroskey 26 days of credit toward his sentence for time he spent in DuPage County Jail following his arrest. Darrah said McCroskey must also serve two years of mandatory supervised release upon being paroled and pay $645 in fines and court costs.

Authorities ultimately arrested McCroskey and associates Travis J. Gamble and Cory M. Paytes in the crime spree. Paytes, an ex-convict, was implicated in six of the crimes, including the one in Willowbrook and others in Naperville, Lisle and an unincorporated area of DuPage County near Downers Grove.

A grand jury indicted Paytes, 23, of Montgomery, on 28 counts of armed robbery, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. Gamble, 23, of Oswego, was indicted on 16 such counts.

The kidnapping charges stemmed from the fact that Gamble and Paytes in several of the crimes forced pizzeria employees to crawl into back rooms or coolers or bound their hands and feet prior to making their escapes.

Paytes and Gamble committed the Nov. 30, 2011 robbery of the Domino's Pizza at 2000 S. Washington St. in Naperville, in which $868 was stolen; the Jan. 8, 2012 stickup of the Domino's Pizza at 2801 Ogden Ave. in Lisle, in which $450 was taken; and the Jan. 16, 2012 holdup of Papa John's Pizza at 1220 W. Ogden Ave. in Naperville.

Police from at least six law enforcement agencies participated in a stake-out of the Papa John's outlet and arrested Gamble and Paytes shortly after the robbery.

Paytes had once worked as a manager of the Naperville Domino's Pizza, and on Dec. 21, 2010 reported being robbed of $600 in receipts. Police ultimately determined the crime never occurred and that Paytes had pocketed the money.

Gamble, McCroskey and Paytes also were suspected in 2011 robberies of pizzerias in Oswego, St. Charles and Yorkville.

Paytes on Feb. 28 was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Gamble was sentenced Nov. 2 to a 12-year prison term.

McCroskey still faces trial in Will County Circuit Court in Joliet on a felony charge of theft. That case has been continued to June 25.

Paytes was sentenced March 27 to 10 years in prison for his part in that crime.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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