Three men are facing felony charges after they allegedly abducted and assaulted another man on Wednesday in suburban Lombard.
According to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, the men drove from Lombard to Chicago, with the victim being beaten after twice trying to escape the vehicle.
All three suspects are facing multiple felony charges, with a judge ruling that they will not be detained pretrial, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney.
Authorities say the situation unfolded after the victim met with one of the suspects to potentially sell a vehicle. The suspect joined the victim in that vehicle for a test drive, with two more suspects following in a minivan, police said.
After the two vehicles stopped at a Lombard gas station, the suspect got out of the victim’s vehicle to inspect it. During that time, one of the suspects stole a briefcase belonging to the victim, which contained car titles, the victim’s phone and a laptop computer.
When the victim tried to retrieve the briefcase from the minivan, one of the suspects began assaulting him, and the other two suspects drove the van away from the gas station.
After leaving the gas station, the vehicle eventually drove eastbound on the Eisenhower Expressway toward Chicago. It is alleged that during the drive the suspects repeatedly threatened to kill the victim and his family, and repeatedly beat him with a club. The suspects also allegedly forced the victim to contact family members to initiate money transfers to the suspects’ accounts.
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During the drive, the victim allegedly tried to escape the vehicle twice, and was beaten and bitten by the suspects in both attempted escapes.
When the vehicle arrived in Chicago, police identified the minivan and initiated a traffic stop. All three suspects were taken into custody, and the victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.
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“The type of violent behavior alleged against these three defendants is extremely alarming and will not be tolerated in DuPage County,” Berlin said. “The victim allegedly endured a severe physical beating, kidnapping and three hours of terror inflicted upon him by these three defendants. I thank the Lombard Police Department for their outstanding work in identifying the individuals allegedly responsible for kidnapping, beating and robbing an innocent man. I also thank the Elmhurst and Chicago Police Departments, the Office of Homeland Security and the FBI for their assistance in the apprehension of the defendants, as well as Assistant State’s Attorneys Adam Frahm and Michael Paup for their work in securing charges against these three men.”
The suspects’ next court appearance is in early December.
