Two men have been indicted by federal prosecutors on charges of kidnapping a DePaul University student, taking him on a harrowing journey on the Red Line, and issuing threats to his life while attempting electronic bank transfers and demanding ransom from his acquaintances.
The case, initially reported by CWB Chicago in October, involves Ricky Willis, 18, and Keyonte Love, 20, who were charged by state prosecutors for the September kidnapping of a freshman student from DePaul on a southbound Red Line train.
The episode reportedly began at around 2 a.m. on September 6 when Love and Willis boarded a train at the Argyle station. As the train reached the Fullerton stop near DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus, the unsuspecting student joined their train car.
According to allegations, the men then cornered the student, threatened his life, and demanded money. They allegedly seized the student’s phone in an attempt to transfer money to themselves, but the transaction was blocked by the bank’s fraud protections. Frustrated, they allegedly contacted the victim’s family and friends for money.
Using the student’s phone, they contacted his sister, warning her that she would “never see him again” unless money was sent. Out of fear for her brother’s safety, she transferred $700 via Zelle to a number linked to Willis, according to court records.
Subsequently, the men contacted the victim’s roommate, who allegedly sent $100 through Cash App to an account in Willis’ name. However, their attempt to extort money from the victim’s mother was unsuccessful due to her limited English proficiency and unfamiliarity with electronic payment methods.
As the train neared 63rd Street, the men allegedly warned the student that he would “end up dead in a ditch” if he tried to escape. They reportedly forced him off the train, led him into an alley, and took photos of his ID. The suspects then demanded weekly electronic payments, threatening to kill him if he failed to comply.
Willis allegedly threatened the victim, saying, “I will kill you. This is life or death. I have a switch.” A “switch” refers to an illegal device that converts a semiautomatic handgun to fire automatically. Although the student did not make further payments, he reportedly continued to receive calls from the suspects for several days.
Chicago police later released surveillance images of the suspects, leading to a tip that identified Love and Willis as residents at a property where the tipster worked, according to prosecutors.
During an interview with detectives, Willis admitted to being the person in the surveillance images and acknowledged having “messed up,” prosecutors claim. Love turned himself into the police shortly thereafter.
A federal grand jury has now indicted both individuals on charges of kidnapping and interference with commerce by threat or violence. State charges remain pending.
This federal prosecution follows Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s recent announcement of a regional transit crime task force designed to tackle violent crime across Chicago’s public transport systems, particularly on CTA trains.
The task force unites federal, county, city, and transit officials to streamline investigations and prosecutions of serious crimes on public transit systems, including CTA, Metra, and Pace. Federal authorities are evaluating state criminal cases for potential federal charges as part of this initiative.
This approach mirrors a firearms task force led by the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which meets daily to coordinate gun-related investigations and prosecutions.
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