Prosecutors say Glen Ellyn kidnapping was trio's third attempt
DuPage prosecutors said the "brazen, broad daylight" Aug. 26 kidnapping and armed robbery of a 21-year-old Wheaton College student in Glen Ellyn was the third robbery attempt that day by the trio involved.
The revelation was made Wednesday during a detention hearing for the 17-year-old Elgin teen charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery.
Assistant State's Attorney Jae Kwon said the teen and two men, one of whom is a relative of the teen, were "just out looking for people to rob" that morning and may have been involved in two previous attempts.
"The first attempt was in another county, and the second attempt was in Lombard," Kwon said. "Both are still being investigated."
Kwon argued Wednesday that the teen, a senior at St. Charles East High School, needs to remain in custody and would present a danger to society and himself should he be released to the custody of his mother. Kwon has also filed a motion for the teen to tried as an adult in this case.
Kwon told Judge Robert Anderson, who ordered the teen to remain detained in a juvenile facility, that the teen was on parole for three prior felony offenses, including a charge of manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance, when the kidnapping occurred.
"This respondent is going to do what he wants to do," Kwon said. "He has shown he can obtain a gun and transportation. And he has the ability to obtain co-defendants."
The teen's mother said she understood the seriousness of the charges and said, if allowed to come home, her son would continue to abide by the house arrest terms.
Abeet Ramos, 18, of South Elgin was charged Friday with armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated unlawful restraint and is being held on $3 million bail. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 21 to 90 years in prison. Police have identified the third suspect as 23-year-old Jeremy Jones of Chicago.
Authorities said the victim left the coffee shop in the 500 block of Crescent Boulevard around 9:50 a.m. Aug. 26 and was walking north on Forest Avenue between Cottage Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard when he was charged by Jones and the teen. Jones grabbed him by the shirt, threatened to shoot him and forced him into the back seat of a small SUV that Ramos was driving, authorities said.
Kwon said Wednesday that the SUV was reported stolen.
The three took the victim's Colorado Rockies baseball hat, his wallet and his iPhone, forcing him to remove the pass code and tracking device, authorities said. They then drove him to a bank along Roosevelt Road and forced him to withdraw $1,100 from an ATM, authorities said.
The trio then drove the victim to Chicago, where they made more ATM stops, forcing him to withdraw $200 at one and $300 at the other, authorities said.
The trio kept him in custody, forcing him at gunpoint down on the floor in the back of the SUV, until around 11:30 a.m. when they let him loose in Chicago, gave him his iPhone and $20, and drove away, Kwon said. He immediately ran inside a building and called police.
The teen is next due in juvenile court on Sept. 22.
Police are still asking for the public's help to locate Jones and are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest through the Crime Stoppers program. Callers to (630) 469-1187 may remain anonymous.