Police: Teens face kidnapping charges after putting woman in a small storage closet

Two teens face aggravated kidnapping charges after authorities say they put a 41-year-old woman in "jail," which police described as a small storage closet on the patio of a Schaumburg apartment.

Charlotte Hethcoat, 18, was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail Thursday. Hethcoat must post the entire amount to be released from custody. If released, Hethcoat will be on electronic monitoring. Co-defendant Riley Martinez, 18, was ordered held on a $10,000 bail on Jan. 21.

Police said the kidnapping commenced about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 17. Shortly after 10 a.m. Jan. 19, the woman reported it to Schaumburg police.

Prosecutors said the defendants told the woman her life was in danger.

Police said she was informed she would face fines, loss of her children or imprisonment if she didn't comply with all requests.

The defendants provided fake contracts from a fictional company which the woman signed, prosecutors said.

Police said the defendants subsequently installed cameras in the woman's home. They also gave the woman a fake tracking device which they told her she was required to wear, said Schaumburg police Lt. Christy Lindhurst.

The defendants told the woman the fake device cost $500, and when she was unable to pay, they told her she had to report to "company jail" at Hethcoat's Schaumburg apartment, Lindhurst said. After making the woman change into "jail-style" clothes (a T-shirt), the defendants put her into the small storage closet on the patio of Hethcoat's home, Lindhurst said.

At work the next day, the woman told her boss what happened and he gave her $500, prosecutors said. Lindhurst confirmed Hethcoat subsequently told the woman that because the payment was late, she'd have to stay in "company jail" another night.

Hethcoat and Martinez next appear in court on Feb. 17.