Elgin man pleads guilty in 2016 kidnapping and armed robbery
An Elgin man now faces between six and 30 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to his role in the August 2016 kidnapping and armed robbery of a Wheaton College student in broad daylight.
Jeremy Jones, 25, formerly of the 300 block of Washington Street, pleaded guilty to armed robbery in exchange for prosecutors dropping five other felony counts Jones was facing from the Aug. 26, 2016, case. Prosecutors also agreed to drop disorderly conduct and intimidation charges he picked up while in the DuPage County jail.
Judge John Kinsella will sentence Jones on Jan. 14.
In the 2016 Glen Ellyn case, prosecutors said Jones, his then 17-year-old brother Timothy Jones and 18-year-old Abeet Ramos of South Elgin were riding in a vehicle reported stolen by Ramos' roommate, "hunting" for someone to rob.
The Wheaton College student was walking north on Forest Avenue between Cottage Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard at 9:50 a.m. "killing time before worship at the college's chapel" when he was forced at gunpoint by Jeremy Jones into the back seat of the SUV, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Fisher said.
The three drove him to a bank along Roosevelt Road and ordered him to withdraw $1,100 from an ATM, authorities said. The trio then drove the victim to Chicago, where they made more ATM stops for withdrawals of $200 and $300 before letting him loose about 11:30 a.m. with his iPhone and $20.
Ramos has been held on $3 million bail in DuPage since his Sept. 2 arrest. The 17-year-old juvenile from Elgin, later revealed to be Jones' younger brother Timothy Jones, was shot and killed on Dec. 27 in Elgin in an unrelated matter.
Ramos has been held on $2 million bail in the DuPage jail since his Sept. 2, 2016, arrest. He was said to be working on a plea deal that would have involved him testifying against Jones at his scheduled Dec. 11 trial and serving 15 years in prison.