A McHenry County jury on Friday convicted 32-year-old Walter Moran of Cicero of armed robbery, armed violence, and aggravated battery with a firearm in an overnight gas station holdup that left a clerk seriously wounded. The verdict caps a five-year investigation into a Feb. 24, 2021, stickup at a Marengo convenience store. Moran now faces what could be decades in prison when he is sentenced this summer.
The attack unfolded around 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2021, inside the Circle K/Shell at 600 N. State St. (Route 23), where two masked men forced the overnight clerk to the floor. Prosecutors said Moran counted to three, then shot clerk Brian Pemble in the thigh before the pair bolted. Pemble, now 40 and a father of six, testified that he lives with daily pain, uses a cane to walk, and needs a spinal stimulator just to sleep. Jurors watched surveillance video and reviewed other evidence during the trial, and Moran's sentencing is set for July 23, 2026, according to Shaw Local.
Co-defendants and prior pleas
The McHenry County State's Attorney's Office has already closed the books on Moran's co-defendants. Antonio Pedrote pleaded guilty in 2025 to armed robbery with a firearm and was sentenced to 25 years, while getaway driver Gregory Garner pleaded guilty in 2023 and received a 13-year term, county prosecutors said. Investigators tied the Marengo holdup to an Aurora robbery about eight hours earlier through surveillance footage and other forensic work. Officials credited detectives from Marengo, Aurora, and the McHenry County Sheriff's Office for carrying the multi-agency probe across the finish line, according to the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office.
Evidence shown to jurors
During Moran's trial, prosecutors rolled out a meticulous timeline built from surveillance video and months of detective work. Jurors heard about cellphone texts and photos, social-media posts, and cell-tower pings that investigators said placed the suspects at key locations. They also listened to recorded jail calls in which a co-defendant allegedly urged Moran to stay quiet, jurors were told. "They menaced him, forced him into submission," Assistant State’s Attorney William Bruce argued in court, as reported by Shaw Local.
What happens next
Moran is scheduled to be sentenced on July 23, 2026, and faces a lengthy prison term on the Class X felony counts. County officials noted that Moran was recently convicted and sentenced in an unrelated federal case, a detail prosecutors said could factor into his punishment. Defense attorneys tried to poke holes in the prosecution's case, arguing that witnesses were unreliable and attempting to pin more of the blame on the getaway driver. Jurors did not buy that version of events.
With convictions secured against all three men, prosecutors said the case highlights how surveillance, cross-jurisdictional detective work, and persistent witness interviews eventually delivered accountability after years of grinding investigation.
