Seven-year sentence for armed robbery

A Zion man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a man with a BB gun.

Clarence Cofield, 22, of 2117 Gideon Ave. pleaded guilty Thursday to Class 1 felony robbery charges in Lake County Circuit Court. Had he not pleaded guilty and been convicted, Cofield could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

Assistant State's Attorney Ari Fisz said that on May 5 Cofield and two others planned the robbery by arranging to have a woman meet the victim at a Grayslake motel.

Cofield and a male accomplice confronted the victim at the motel, pointed a BB gun at the man and removed money from his pockets, Fisz said.

According to court documents, the robbery was not Cofield's first run-in with the law. He was arrested on residential burglary and distribution of an illegal substance charges in 2006.

Also that year, Cofield was charged with obstruction of justice.