Bank, jewelry store robber pleads guilty

A Chicago man charged in connection with a series of bank and jewelry store robberies pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court.

Aaron Russell, 42, admitted to three counts relating to the September 2011 robbery of a jewelry store and the May 2013 robbery of a suburban bank. He pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan and now faces a maximum of life in prison.

Russell and Roberto Favela were charged after a May 2013 incident in which FBI agents fatally shot the pair’s alleged accomplice in the McHenry County town of Richmond. Tony Starnes, 45, had been driving from Chicago with the other two in a stolen Honda Civic.

Prosecutors have said Russell, Favela and Starnes traveled to Richmond to rob an Associated Bank. FBI agents confronted the men, and Starnes was shot and killed. He allegedly had driven his car into an agent’s vehicle.

Der-Yeghiayan sentenced Favela in November to 76 months in prison, court records show.