A woman was kidnapped when her car was stolen by a man implying he had a weapon.
It happened on April 30 at 6:44 p.m. when a man suddenly entered the passenger side of the car of a woman who was parked in the intersection of Harrison Street and Circle Avenue. He allegedly said he had a gun and demanded that she begin to drive.
The man was later identified as Travis Williams, born in 2002, from Chicago.
Williams reportedly had his right hand wrapped in a navy blue nylon jacket and implied he had a weapon. He demanded the victim drive to a Chase Bank in Chicago, where they entered the vestibule together and she attempted to withdraw money, at Williams’ insistence. No money could be withdrawn from her checking account, according to the police report, because her balance was too low.
The offender, Williams, then had her drive to another location, where once again he forced her to withdraw money, but this transaction was also unsuccessful.
After repeatedly asking Williams to let her go, the victim was finally released at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and I-290. Williams continued on in the car and the victim notified the police that she had been kidnapped and her car stolen.
About an hour later, the stolen vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run in North Riverside. Forest Park police officers arrived at the scene to assist North Riverside police in establishing a perimeter and search for Williams. Riverside Fire Department’s drone, K9 police dogs from various departments, and a Chicago Police Department helicopter were all employed in the search for Williams, who was finally located inside a garbage can in the rear of a residence on 4th Avenue in North Riverside.
The weapon Williams had implied he had was never found, and Williams was taken into police custody and is being charged with aggravated kidnapping and vehicular hijacking and held on a $1 million bond.
