Trio Charged With Beating Man To Get His Inheritance
ROUND LAKE PARK, Ill. (STMW) -- A man invited a friend to a north suburban home earlier this month to watch the Bears-Packers game, but instead, along with two others, gagged and beat him in a bungled abduction attempt over a windfall inheritance, according to police.
Officers were called to the home in the 300 block of North Kenwood Drive in Round Lake Park about 8:37 p.m. Nov. 4 after neighbors heard a disturbance and called 911, Round Lake Beach Chief of Police George Filenko said.
When officers heard muffled cries for help coming from inside the home, they forced their way inside and found an injured, naked man lying bound and gagged on the floor, Filenko said.
They later learned the 38-year-old victim had been pistol-whipped and beaten in the head with a pipe, he said.
Authorities claim the man's lifelong friend -- 35-year-old Deshaude Jones -- lured him there to watch the Packers-Bears game on Monday Night Football, while two other suspects hid in the home, Filenko said.
At some point -- just after the Bears scored a touchdown -- the two other suspects "came out of nowhere" and all three began beating the victim, the chief said.
"Apparently, the victim's family had inherited a substantial amount of money several weeks prior and the suspects had knowledge of that," Filenko said. "This may have been a failed attempt at abducting him and holding him for a ransom."
The victim suffered several "substantial" head injuries and was treated at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Filenko said.
After police forced their way into the house, they arrested 34-year-old Derek Gordon of the 2500 block of Village Park Drive in Waukegan, Filenko said.
Jones and 37-year-old Seneca Davis fled, possibly through a back window that officers found open, Filenko said.
Davis, also of the Village Park Drive address, was arrested Tuesday by U.S. Marshals and Lake County Sheriff's deputies, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Both Gordon and Davis are charged with armed robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint, Filenko said.
Jones remained at large as of Tuesday evening, Filenko said. Authorities believe he lived at the home where the beating took place, and that he may have fled the state.
The victim knew all three suspects, and was able to identify them in a lineup, Filenko said.
Gordon was ordered held on a $1 million bond, and will next appear in court Dec. 5 in Waukegan, according to the sheriff's office and court records. Davis was ordered held on $250,000 and will next appear Dec. 19.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
