Man accused of kidnapping woman after offering to help with flat tire in north suburban Chicago
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) -- Jonatan Luna-Carrasco is accused of convincing a woman to get in his car while he helped her and her friend with a flat tire -- only to speed off with her.
The Lake County, Illinois man is charged with kidnapping and appeared in court Monday, and county sheriff's detectives said they do not believe this is the only time Luna-Carrasco has committed such a crime.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, a 22-year-old woman from Whitewater, Wisconsin, had just left a nightclub in Waukegan along with another woman. They headed home in a car together on Route 41 near Hanssen Road in Wadsworth, when Luna-Carrasco pulled up and told them they had a flat tire, the sheriff's office said at the time.
The women pulled over. Detectives said Luna-Carrasco said he would help them change the flat tire, and encouraged the 22-year-old woman to stay warm inside his car. When she got in, he drove off with the woman against her will, detectives said.
The victim was able to hop out of the moving car in the 3500 block of Highland Avenue in Gurnee, and ran to a nearby home for help, the sheriff's office said.
Gurnee police came, and aided the victim until Lake County Sheriff's detectives arrived. The woman told police Luna-Carrasco made sexual comments to her after kidnapping her.
In court, prosecutors detailed what they called a "calculated" and "premeditated plan" -- describing the victim as extremely "intoxicated" and not able to defend herself.
Prosecutors went on to say when police found her - after getting calls from the neighborhood where she was "hysterically" knocking on doors and asking for help - she was described by law enforcement as intoxicated, bruised, and covered in road rash.
Police cameras and surveillance cameras corroborating the timeline shared by the witness who had been in the car with the victim.
Sheriff's deputies learned Luna-Carrasco was driving a gray Dodge Durango, and used Flock Camera technology to find a vehicle matching the description of his. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Luna-Carrasco on Friday, March 22, and arrested him this past Saturday in Waukegan.
Defense attorneys claimed Luna-Carrasco had his three daughters in the car -- all under the age of 10. But this was refuted by the witness.
The defense also said Luna-Carrasco believed it was 10:30 p.m., rather than almost 2 a.m.
A judge on Monday ruled to keep Luna-Carrasco in custody until his next court date, citing his criminal history. CBS 2 found that he has past domestic battery charges, and a current order of protection filed against him.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office wants to hear from anyone else who's been victimized by Luna-Carrasco, or has additional information. Again, the sheriff's office believes Luna-Carrasco has committed similar crimes before.
Anyone with relevant information should call the Lake County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division, at 847-377-4000.
