A Niles man arrested last week for allegedly stealing money from a 7-Eleven store using a toy gun, according to police, was back before the same judge this week, accused of robbing a Niles restaurant just two days after he was released on bond.
Nicholas Amato, 26, of the 7700 block of North Oconto Avenue, was arrested Feb. 27 and charged with aggravated robbery in connection with an incident at Jimmy John’s restaurant, 7954 N. Waukegan Road, police said.
At the time of his arrest, Amato was free on $10,000 bond after appearing in court on Feb. 25 to face charges of theft and resisting arrest for allegedly stealing $40 from a nearby 7-Eleven store at 7450 W. Oakton Street while wearing a plastic bag on his head and displaying a toy “air-soft pistol,” Niles and Cook County Sheriff’s Police said.
During a March 1 court hearing on the robbery charge, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Anthony Calabrese, who heard Amato’s earlier case and set bond at $10,000 on Friday, set a new bond of $200,000 for Amato, requiring $20,000 to be posted in order for his release.
Assistant State’s Attorney Rowland Edwards said that on Feb. 27, around 6:50 p.m., Amato entered the Jimmy John’s restaurant, approached the manager at the cash register, said he had waited too long for his food and wanted money from the register.
Amato then pulled up his sweatshirt to show what appeared to be a pistol in his sweatpants, Edwards said.
The manager removed the cash drawer from the register and Amato took approximately $215 in cash before running out the back door of the restaurant, Edwards said.
According to Niles police, a person matching the robber’s description — and identified as Amato — was located in the area of Nora Avenue and Harvard Street, about three blocks south of the restaurant, and taken into custody, police said.
A trail of money totaling $215 was found along the path that Amato fled, in his possession, and on the ground where he was arrested, said Niles Deputy Police Chief Nick Zakula.
Using a police K-9, officers located an “air-soft-type” replica of a semi-automatic pistol near the Jimmy John’s at 7912 Waukegan Road, Zakula said.
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An employee of the restaurant identified Amato as the person who had robbed the business, police said.
In court this week, Amato’s attorney, Paul Burnson, repeated statements he had made on Feb. 25 that his client is in need of “some kind of in-patient care” for mental health or substance abuse issues.
“‘Odd’ is not the correct word, but the behaviors exhibited by the defendant are unusual to say the least,” Burnson said.
Burnson said Amato’s mother had attempted to get her son treatment at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after he was released from custody on Feb. 25, but he refused to be treated.
Calabrese acknowledged potential mental health or substance issues, but noted the danger that Amato posed to the public and to himself.
“The potential for lawlessness is extraordinary,” Calabrese said. “I can’t in good conscience give him an i-Bond or a low bond in a circumstance where he is refusing treatment.”
Edwards said the state would also be filing a violation of probation against Amato. At the time of his arrests, Amato was on probation after pleading guilty to a battery that occurred in 2020, Edwards said.
Niles police reported that Amato was arrested in April 2020 after he was accused of pushing and punching a 60-year-old man outside the Walgreens that is located next to the 7-Eleven on Oakton Street.