Two men charged with kidnapping DePaul student on Chicago Red Line, holding him for ransom

Two men have been charged in the alleged kidnapping and robbery of a DePaul University student on the Chicago Red Line.

20-year-old Keyonte Love was charged this week with aggravated kidnapping for ransom and aggravated robbery. He is the second individual charged in the case, accused of working with 18-year-old Ricky Willis in the abduction of a DePaul freshman last month.

According to prosecutors, the incident occurred around 2 am on September 6. Love and Willis allegedly boarded the train at Argyle, and minutes later, the student boarded at Fullerton. The men then cornered the victim, threatened to kill him, and demanded money, authorities said. They took his phone and attempted to transfer funds to themselves, but the transaction failed after the bank flagged it as potentially fraudulent due to the large amount of money they tried to send.

The suspects then used the victim’s phone to contact his family and friends and demanded ransom payments. They called his sister and warned she would “never see him again” unless she handed over money, and she later transferred $700 via Zelle to Willis. They then contacted the victim’s roommate, who sent another $100 through Cash App to an account named Ricky Willis. Attempts to reach the victim’s mother were unsuccessful because she spoke little English and did not know how to use electronic payment apps, prosecutors said.

Love and Willis then allegedly forced the victim off the train and into an alley, photographed his identification, and told him he would have to make weekly electronic payments or be killed.

“I will kill you,” Willis allegedly said to him. “This is life or death. I have a switch.”

The victim did not send further payments, but the two men continued calling him for several days, prosecutors said. Chicago police released surveillance images of the suspects, and a housing worker recognized them as residents of a property where she worked. Detectives questioned Willis, who admitted to being the person captured in the surveillance images. Love had recently surrendered to police, according to CWB Chicago.