CHICAGO
A man was arrested Sunday for allegedly kidnapping of a woman who came came home and found the suspect burglarizing her home in Lansing, Illinois, officials announced Monday.
Carleous Clay, 33, of Lansing, was taken into custody in Holland, Michigan, held on a local parole violation warrant and later charged with one count of kidnapping, a felony offense. Clay is currently being held in Michigan.
Clay is facing federal charges, and officials said he could get life in prison if he is convicted of the crime, officials said.
According to the complaint, this is what happened:
- The victim arrived at her home on the night of September 17 and walked into a burglary in progress.
- The robber allegedly came at the victim with a hammer, forced her into the trunk of her car and drove to Munster, Indiana, where he was captured by bank surveillance videos at two ATMs.
- The complaint states that the victim’s vehicle was next seen on surveillance video at approximately 2:00 a.m. the next morning in Burns Harbor, Indiana, where the victim was recovered.
- Later that morning, law enforcement officers found the victim’s car at an apartment complex in Holland, Michigan.
- Following the airing of two images from the bank surveillance video by Chicago media outlets, law enforcement received two anonymous tips identifying the individual in the photos as Clay.
- Three acquaintances of Clay also identified him in the surveillance photos.
- On September 21, 2015, the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Virginia preliminarily reported that Clay’s DNA profile was consistent with a DNA sample taken from the victim’s body.
- If convicted of the charge filed against him, Clay faces a possible sentence of up to life in prison.
The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.