3rd Man Charged In Kidnap-Murder Of Real Estate Owner
UPDATED: 12/15/10 9:14 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - Three men are now charged -- two of them with murder -- after the weekend kidnapping of a real estate owner who was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death earlier this week.
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Bond for two of the suspects was set at $2.5 million Wednesday. Darrell Stokes, 38, of Justice, and Jeremy Borders, 36, of the 500 block of North LeCliare Avenue, are charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and aggravated unlawful restraint.
The third suspect, Keith Watts, 34, of the 3300 block of West 19th Street, was ordered held on $800,000 bond Tuesday, Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.
A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 16 for Watts, who was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated unlawful restraint, and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in the kidnapping and murder of Francisco Favela, of Berwyn.
Three men and a woman came to a building Favela owned in the 2200 block of South Keeler Avenue Saturday, claiming they wanted to rent one of the units.
Favela, who owned and managed the building, invited the group inside, where another man was also present. At that point, the would-be renters pulled guns, and while the other man escaped, Favela was bound with duct tape.
Authorities say the suspects demanded $500,000 ransom from Favela's family, but they ended up killing him.
Favela, of the 3700 block of South Cuyler Avenue in Berwyn, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the medical examiner's office. An autopsy on Tuesday found that he suffered blunt head trauma and incise wounds from an assault and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner's office said.
Favela was a hardworking father who had been rehabbing homes for the past two decades. He started with little, but owned about half a dozen buildings when he was killed.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
