GALESBURG, Ill — 2 people have been sentenced to 13 years in prison after being convicted for the armed robbery of a Walgreens in Galesburg.
Gates L. Sisk, 20, and Davia A. Barbee, 20, both of Indianapolis, were sentenced to 13 years in prison for the September 10, 2018, armed robbery of Walgreens Pharmacy in Galesburg, Ill. Both Sisk and Barbee were sentenced on Sept. 23, 2020.
Police say both have remained in law enforcement custody since they were arrested on Sept. 10, 2018.
"Sisk and Barbee each pleaded guilty in February 2020, to all three counts as charged in the indictment, including obstructing commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and possession with intent to distribute narcotics."
According to court documents and testimony, Sisk, Barbee and another individual when they entered the Walgreens at 844 Fremont St., Galesburg, Ill., around 4:20 a.m., on Sept. 10, 2018.
The defendants displayed and pointed apparent guns at the pharmacy employees as they bound the employees with zip ties. The defendants demanded narcotics and threatened to kill the employees if they did not cooperate. The defendants took large quantities of Adderall, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and methylphenidate, a generic form of Ritalin, to sell.
Police officers with the Galesburg Police Department arrested Sisk and Barbee shortly after the robbery as they fled on foot after crashing their getaway car. Police recovered a Bersa .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun used in the robbery from the car and more than 12,000 pills from the car as well as bottles that were thrown from the car as the defendants fled from police.
The third suspect in the Galesburg robbery, identified in court as Prentice Davis. According to the agent’s testimony, Sisk has been linked to two other similar robberies in Alton, Ill., and Appleton, Wis. Barbee has been linked to a similar robbery in Kansas City, Mo. Davis is currently serving a 10-year-sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections for a pharmacy robbery in Missouri.
