Wilson
A 27-year-old Collinsville man was sentenced to 85 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the armed robbery and attempted murder of a gas station clerk in 2017.
Patrick B. Wilson was found guilty Oct. 4 by a Madison County jury. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm, both Class X felonies.
On Aug. 15, 2017, the Collinsville Police Department responded to a report at the Exxon Mobile gas station in the 800 block of South Morrison. Officers found the clerk, Charles Atkins, with a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen. Wilson had already fled the scene with the cash he could carry from the register leaving the victim with severe loss of blood.
In Tuesday’s hearing, Wilson claimed he was the one fighting for his life. First Assistant State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe rebutted, “The defendant has not shown one bit of remorse for his actions.”
While present at the sentencing, Charles Atkins and Melissa Noell, who was working alongside Atkins the night of the armed robbery, both courageously shared victim impact statements.
“In a lot of ways that night, I did die,” Atkins said. “Since then, my sense of safety is irreparably damaged. Things I used to enjoy were now tainted. Walks were always accompanied by me looking over my shoulder. Going out to eat now meant that I had to sit facing the door. Favorite movies and video games could now make me terrified.”
Similarly, Noell shared how the night of Aug. 15, 2017, has since changed her life.
“I spent two years thinking of the ‘what ifs.’ What if it was me who got shot? What could I have done differently that night? What if I didn’t freeze up when you walked in?”
“Healing is a process, sometimes a slow and painful one, but thankfully an opportunity I have,” Atkins said. “As far as my opinion on a sentence, I want justice, not revenge.”
Uhe and Assistant State’s Attorney Tara Steele of the Violent Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons praised his prosecutors for presenting a meticulous case which led to Tuesday’s sentencing.
Associate Judge Neil Schroeder sentenced Wilson to 45 years for attempted first-degree murder and 40 years for armed robbery with a firearm. The sentences will be served consecutively, in which he is required to serve 85 percent of the time with 3 years mandatory supervision following his release.