Public defender appointed for man charged in Mundelein kidnapping
A public defender has been appointed to represent the Chicago man accused of kidnapping a 3-year-old girl in Mundelein.
However, Jose E. Reyes, 28, of the 4900 block of West North Avenue, told Lake County Judge Raymond Collins during a brief hearing in bond court Wednesday that he thought he had hired his own attorney.
Reyes told Collins the attorney was supposed to be in court to represent him, but was not present for unknown reasons. Collins appointed the public defender to represent Reyes and set a new court date of Nov. 13.
Reyes is held in Lake County jail in lieu of a $5 million bond after being charged with aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping and unlawful restraint for taking the girl from the entrance of an apartment building in the 500 block of Deepwoods Drive, which is in the Deepwoods Apartment complex, authorities said.
He faces a 60-year prison term if convicted on the most serious of the charges.
Authorities said Reyes was behind the wheel of a 2007 Hyundai Accent when he approached the girl and her 9-year-old sister about 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 30.
He offered the older girl candy, but she refused. Authorities say Reyes then grabbed the younger child, strapped her in the front seat of the vehicle and sped off while the 9-year-old screamed for help from her mother.
While police were investigating, an unidentified man had found the girl in a nearby parking lot and dialed 911 about 30 minutes later.
She was injured and bleeding, but was returned to her mother, authorities said. She was taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said, where she was treated and tests were completed.
Video surveillance of the vehicle taken where the little girl was dropped off, and a traffic ticket that recently had been issued to Reyes led police to interview, and later arrest and charge him, authorities said.
The Cook County sheriff’s office, the Lake County state’s attorney’s office, the FBI and the Northern Illinois Crime Lab assisted with the investigation, authorities said.
Additional charges are possible pending the results of the investigation and a possible Lake County grand jury indictment expected later this month.