Pontoon Beach gas station robber is sentenced to more than seven years in prison

ST. LOUIS - Shawn M. Bequette, 23, of Pontoon Beach, was sentenced on September 24, 2015, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, to a term of 92 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for the October 6, 2014 robbery of a Conoco Phillips gas station in Pontoon Beach, Illinois, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Evidence showed that in the early morning hours of October 6, 2014, Bequette robbed the Pontoon Beach gas station with a BB gun that resembled a real firearm, threatening the store clerk and demanding money from the cash register, along with the clerk’s wallet. As Bequette fled the scene, two witnesses to the crime – who had arrived as the robbery was in progress – chased Bequette down and pinned him to the ground until Pontoon Beach police arrived to arrest him.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pontoon Beach Police Department, and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Shane B. Kelbley.