Richmond Heights juvenile gang member facing adult prison for armed Lake County robberies

A 17-year-old member of a notorious Cleveland gang has admitted holding up two Lake County businesses at gunpoint.

Jonathan Roebuck of Richmond Heights picked up two other males Dec. 16 and drove to Lake County to “hit a lick” — commit a robbery.

Their first stop was the Lake Shore Boulevard Willowick Rite Aid, Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Crystal Welsh said.

“He covered his face and pointed a gun at the clerk while his co-defendant took money from the cash register,” Welsh said.

Upon leaving, the duo snatched a purse from a woman who was entering the store and fled in a gray 2016 Jeep Cherokee SUV.

About an hour later, they decided to rob the Circle K convenience store on Vine Street in Willoughby, noticing that the store appeared empty.

Roebuck pointed a semi-automatic gun at the male clerk there, and then shoved the weapon in a woman’s back. His 16-year-old co-defendant, Monte Smedley of Cleveland, grabbed $156 from the male clerk.

Before making their escape, Roebuck — a member of the Rack Gang — displayed gang signs, Welsh said.

The Rack Gang is a subsidiary of the Heartless Felons, one of the largest organized gangs in Ohio prisons.

Roebuck pleaded guilty May 24 in Lake County Common Pleas Court to three counts of robbery plus firearm and gang specifications.

He now faces between 10 and 34 years in prison when he is sentenced June 25 by Judge Vincent A. Culotta.

Roebuck, in court with defense attorney Christopher Boeman, remains in Lake County Jail on $500,000 bond.

Roebuck was one of three juveniles recently bound over as adults in Lake County.

Smedley was previously sentenced to six years in an adult prison after pleading guilty in the Circle K robbery.

The third juvenile, 16-year-old Michael Petro of Willowick, is suspected of robbing the Subway on Lake Shore Boulevard in Willowick around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 1. Subway surveillance video shows a male pointing a handgun at an employee as he approaches the counter. The employee was hospitalized for superficial injuries after being hit with the gun.

Petro’s case remains pending in adult court.

Lake County Juvenile Court Judge Karen Lawson found all three teens were not amenable to care or rehabilitation in the juvenile system.

Lawson also found Roebuck and Petro posed a “current and significant threat to the safety of other persons in the courtroom.”

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