Rickey Claybron, Armed Robberies, Illinois 2015

A man was sentenced to 41 years in federal prison in connection with a series of violent retail-store robberies in Rockford, Illinois. Rickey Claybron, 36, of Rockford, was convicted of conspiracy, robbery, and firearm charges following a federal jury trial last year.

In the fall of 2015, Claybron and his co-conspirators carried out three violent robberies and one attempted robbery, using firearms to terrorize store clerks and patrons while stealing cigarettes and cash. During the robberies, Claybron or his co-conspirators physically assaulted, restrained, and shot at some of the store employees, wounding one of them.

The three robberies and one attempted robbery occurred within a three-week period, with the first incident taking place on October 28, 2015, at H&A Tobacco, 1623 Broadway in Rockford. Claybron pointed a gun at a clerk and ordered the clerk and a customer to get on the ground. Cash and multiple cartons of cigarettes were stolen from the store, along with the clerk’s personal belongings.

On November 2, 2015, the group robbed Advance Auto, 3019 Auburn St. in Rockford. A store employee was ordered at gunpoint to lay on the ground while another employee was ordered to open the cash registers. One employee was struck in the side of the face with a gun and later shot at when he ran from the store. The robbers stole cash from the store and from one of the employees.

On November 5, 2015, Claybron and his co-conspirators attempted to rob Zake Convenience, 824 7th St. in Rockford. Claybron pointed a gun at store clerks and reached behind a partition, but was unable to gain access to the cash register. The group fled the store without stealing anything.

On November 13, 2015, Claybron and his co-conspirator, Deandre R. Haywood, robbed Shell Express, 3003 11th St. in Rockford. Claybron pointed a sawed-off shotgun at customers while Haywood pointed a gun at store employees and grabbed cigarettes and cash from the registers. Haywood then shot one of the employees in the back while Claybron struck an employee in the head with the shotgun.

U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston in Rockford ordered Claybron to pay $10,280.75 in restitution as part of his sentence. Two co-conspirators, Deandre R. Haywood and Darnell Leavy, both of Rockford, pleaded guilty prior to Claybron’s trial. Haywood was sentenced to 26 and a half years in federal prison, while Leavy was sentenced to 11 and a half years in 2019.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-led Rockford Area Violent Crime Task Force, which includes law enforcement officers and agents from the FBI, Rockford Police Department, Loves Park Police Department, and Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica S. Maveus and Kaitlin Klamann.

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