Two Charged In Phony Kidnapping, Ransom Case
(STNW) -- A woman who was convicted last summer of robbery and a friend are accused of trying to extort money from an elderly Naperville man, after they falsely claimed to have kidnapped his granddaughter.
Convicted robber Deanna K. Nolan, 19, of Lisle, and Jakarre M. Brown, also 19, of near-west suburban Maywood, remained Thursday night in DuPage County Jail on bails of $50,000 each. They face trial on individual, felony charges of disorderly conduct/filing a false crime report.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin and Naperville police Chief Robert W. Marshall, in a joint release, said Nolan and Brown allegedly claimed they were holding a friend for ransom, "and threatening to kill her if their demand for money was not met."
Brown and Nolan about 5 p.m. Wednesday allegedly placed a telephone call to the Naperville man, the release read in part. The call came from a "blocked phone number," but the man answered it, the statement continued.
The caller, who was not known to the man, allegedly told him "that his granddaughter had been kidnapped, and that she would be killed if he did not meet their demands for money," the release stated. "After receiving the phone call, (the man) contacted the Naperville Police Department."
Subsequent investigation led detectives to Nolan and Brown, who were taken into custody about five hours later, according to the statement. The man's granddaughter "was safely located at another friend's house" and was not harmed, the release read.
Marshall said police "took immediate action, and were able to quickly locate the offenders. The police department takes these reports very seriously …"
Berlin added the charges against Brown and Nolan "are very serious. Attempting to extort money by allegedly threatening the murder of a loved one is not only unlawful, it is a cruel and heartless thing to do."
The statement did not reveal the amount of ransom demanded, how or for how long Nolan and Brown had known the man's granddaughter, or other details of the case.
The Sun learned the alleged extortion victim is 77 years old, and lives in the University Heights neighborhood on Naperville's far southeast side.
He declined to speak about the incident when contacted Thursday evening by telephone, other than to say "there was no kidnapping."
Written police reports examined by The Sun indicated Brown and Nolan were arrested between 10:12 and 10:41 p.m. Wednesday near Ogden and Yackley avenues in Lisle. The Berlin-Marshall release stated Nolan lives on the 2000 block of Ogden Avenue in Lisle, which is just northwest of that intersection.
Naperville police Sgt. Bill Davis, the department's public information officer, could not be immediately reached late Thursday for comment or further details of the alleged crime.
An examination of DuPage County Circuit Court records revealed Nolan was arrested on or about last July 2 in Lisle, and charged with robbery. She pleaded guilty in August, and on Sept. 9 was sentenced to 160 days in jail and placed on two years of probation, records showed.
Preliminary court dates for Brown and Nolan were pending as of Thursday.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
