22-year sentence for kidnapping
A Chicago gang member pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a kidnapping that started at a Round Lake Beach restaurant and ended with a police raid on a house in Carpentersville.
In exchange for a 22-year sentence, 27-year-old Juan C. Martinez pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted aggravated kidnapping in the abductions of six people Aug. 19, 2006.
Martinez is the second of seven alleged gang members convicted in the kidnappings at Villa's restaurant. Another man who police said planned the crime has been sentenced on drug charges.
Martinez has been jailed since police raided the house on the 100 block of Tee Road in Carpentersville and freed the hostages, some who had been tortured for six hours.
"We don't know what would have happened if (police) hadn't gotten there when they did," prosecutor Jody Gleason said.
Martinez must serve at least 11 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. As he was led away, he blew a kiss to two relatives seated in the courtroom.
"It's a reasonable sentence, given the circumstances of this case," said Aurora attorney Richard Irvin. "It gives Mr. Martinez -- if he's a model inmate in the Department of Corrections -- a chance to get out."
Last month, alleged ringleader Antonio "Goofy" Torres Jr., 27, of Carpentersville, was sentenced to 25 years in a federal drug case and is awaiting trial on charges in the kidnapping.
Another man, Paul Munoz-Noriega of Chicago, pleaded guilty last May to an aggravated kidnapping charge and is serving a 12-year sentence, Gleason said.
The kidnappers mistakenly thought the Villa's restaurant was a cover for a stash of drugs and cash hidden inside, according to court documents.
Armed with pistols, duct tape and plastic "zip ties" masked men raided the restaurant and took hostages when they couldn't find what they were looking for.
The captives -- a family of four, a cook and a customer -- were taken to the Tee Road home and beaten, burned with cigarettes and threatened with rape until the police arrived.
Another defendant, Victor Hernandez of Marengo, is expected to plead guilty in the kidnapping on Monday, his attorney, D.J. Tegeler said.
Three other men arrested in the plot, Sergio Martinez of Carpentersville, Carlos Ortega of Oak Lawn and Ruben Vargas of Schiller Park, are awaiting trial.