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Woodridge man charged with hijacking, kidnapping woman and 2 kids

A Woodridge man in prison on an unrelated armed robbery charge has been charged with hijacking and kidnapping a woman and her two young children in April 2014.

John A. Smith, 18, formerly of Woodridge, is charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery. All charges are Class X felonies.

Prosecutors say the victim and her two children were sitting in their parked minivan at 11:07 a.m. on April 26, 2014, in a grocery store parking lot when Smith, armed with a large butcher knife, entered through the passenger side door.

Smith, authorities said, then ordered the woman to drive to a nearby bank to get money, which she did. Smith also allegedly stole $45 cash and roughly $100 of Canadian currency from the woman before leaving the vehicle, prosecutors said.

Smith was later arrested on charges of an armed robbery in Bolingbrook and is serving a 14-year prison sentence at Illinois River Correctional Center in that case.

According to court records, Smith's bail was fixed at $250,000 on the most recent charges. A future court date has not yet been set.

"The type of brazen behavior alleged in this case will not be tolerated in DuPage County," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "Thankfully, the victim and her two young children were left physically unharmed."

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