Prosecutors say a victim — a caretaker for an elderly woman — experienced his “worst nightmare” after three masked Venezuelan migrants armed with guns battered him and robbed him in Waukegan.
The Waukegan Police Department responded on January 21 to a residence on Glendenning Place in Waukegan for a report of an armed robbery that had just occurred.
The victim told officers he was trying to sell gold bracelets on Facebook Marketplace, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts.
He had posted for sale an 18-karat gold bracelet worth about $1,000 and another worth about $1,200.
A subject using the Facebook profile “Freddy Jhunior” reached out to him to purchase the bracelets, Shanley-Roberts said.
“Freddy” was to come to the victim’s weekday residence where the victim and his wife serve as live-in caretakers for an elderly woman.
Shanley-Roberts said the victim activated the alarm system in the house, locked the door and went out through the attached garage when “Freddy” arrived.
He met with a subject who he described as a Spanish-speaking Hispanic male wearing all black clothing with a hood up.
The victim presented the two bracelets and the man drew a pistol, struck the victim’s right shoulder and snatched the jewelry from the victim’s hand, Shanley-Roberts said.
Two other Spanish-speaking Hispanic men approached while also wearing all black clothing with hoods up.
The victim told officers the three men had accents that sounded like they were from Venezuela and all three were armed with black pistols, Shanley-Roberts said. One had a birthmark or scar on his right cheek.
The men tried to get into the victim’s car, which was in the garage. It was locked and they ordered him to unlock the door to the residence so they could go in.
He complied and it caused the alarm for the home security system to activate.
Shanley-Roberts said the suspects did not enter the home and one pointed a pistol at the victim, stole his phone and put him in the garage.
The men fled in a dark colored sedan. Officers located the victim’s phone lying in the road in the 300 block of Greenwood Avenue.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kailey Hopkins said the online sale turned into the victim’s “worst nightmare.”
Officers learned that the Carol Stream Police Department investigated a similar incident on January 22, Shanley-Roberts said.
A buy was set up on Facebook Marketplace with the account “Freddy Jhunior” and gold was taken during that incident.
The subjects in the Carol Stream robbery were captured on video. Shanley-Roberts said two of the offenders in that case were identified as Freddy J. Jimenez-Fernandez, 22, and Leonardo J. Hernandez-Ramirez, 29.
Detectives conducted photo line-ups with the victim in the Waukegan armed robbery and he identified both Jimenez-Fernandez and Hernandez-Ramirez as two of the three offenders.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the Facebook account used to arrange the purported sale, Shanley-Roberts said.
The date of birth on the “Freddy Jhunior” account was the same date of birth as Jimenez-Fernandez. Law enforcement database records note that both offenders were born in Venezuela.
Lake County Judge James Newman granted a petition to detain Hernandez-Ramirez pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain Jimenez-Fernandez pending trial following separate detention hearings.
Jimenez-Fernandez is set to appear in court again on March 25 for a preliminary hearing and Hernandez-Ramirez is set to appear in court again on April 1 for a preliminary hearing.
It is unknown whether investigators have identified or charged the third suspect.