A federal judge sentenced a man to 50 years in prison for committing a series of violent abductions in the city and the suburbs almost six years ago. Sedgwick Williams, 48, worked with at least four accomplices, three of whom are waiting for conviction and a fourth who has died since then.
“Williams and his fellow samplers have ruthlessly threatened, held, beaten, robbed, kidnapped, terrorized and tortured for their own personal gain,” said prosecutors in a condemning memorandum.
In addition to the three cases accused the group of committing, federal prosecutors also linked them to a fourth robbery: a raid on a poker game with high-stakes in the 3200-block of West Bryn Mawr on September 19, 2019.
Dressed as law enforcement, armed members of the group with weapons, including an AR-15 rifle, and entered the poker game.
“Dea! Police! Everyone on the floor. Hands out. With his face down,” they ordered.
The crew fascinated several people, searched for valuables and stole between $ 10,000 and $ 20,000 in cash and jewelry, as well as a firearm that was later recovered by the police.
About a month later, on October 17, 2029, in Naperville. Federal authorities said that Williams, Ivan Ayers, 37, Jonathan Vargas, 38, and Tai Hon la, 35, occurred as legislative officers to handmen and kidnapped an owner of an electronics from his company. They went on to the store before they brought the man to Chicago, where they attacked him and extorted his family, according to federal prosecutors.
During the process the victim spoke about the kidnapping: “They threatened to kill me, cut my hands, cut my d ***, cut my fingers. You know, and I told them that I have no money at home. And I told them, I know my wife is eight and a half weeks pregnant, she goes forward.
“I felt that I was there for three months. But just as some of the times they hit me – it wasn’t even right because I couldn’t defend myself, you know. And I didn’t fight. I was tied up. And they hit me and tortured me and tortured me and laughed.” A guy stood on my head. ” I just stood. I was on the side. He stood on my head. They used a stun gun. “
A month later, the group is said to have been put as federal agents to fascinate a man and force him in his house in Westchester. Once inside, they forced the man and another person who was in the house to the basement. Two more victims who arrived while the crime was going on were also forced under shot in the basement.
Federal officials said the crew stole jewelry and cash from the house and then fled.
A third attempt at kidnapping on December 11, 2019 led to the fall of the group because the intended victim was able to call 911, and police officers in South Holland arrived on the spot before the crew gained access to the victim’s house.
Researchers restored two weapons, two bulletproof vests, handcuffs and a police scanner in the Scene of South Holland.
One of the earlier crime judgments of Williams is an armed kidnapping case from 2005 for which he was sentenced to 25 years.
Judge Jorge L. Alonso In the US, Williams handed the 50-year sentence on Wednesday.
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