2 Convicted In Violent Kidnapping, Extortion In Naperville In 2019

NAPERVILLE, IL — Two men have been convicted in connection with what authorities have described as "violent" armed kidnappings and extortion in Naperville and Westchester in 2019.

Tai Hon La, 34, of Beach Park, and Sedgwick Williams, 47, of Chicago, worked together to plan the kidnappings, according to a news release from the Northern District of Illinois of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The pair were taken into custody in December 2019 in the midst of a kidnapping attempt in South Holland.

Authorities say that in Oct. 2019, La and Williams pretended to be police officers outside an electronics store in Naperville. They then handcuffed a man and kidnapped him at gunpoint.

They then burglarized the electronics store and took the man to an empty unit in Chicago, where they "assaulted him and extorted his family," the news release said.

The pair was involved in another kidnapping in Westchester in Nov. 2019. This time, they pretended to be DEA agents and forced four people into the basement of a house, prosecutors say, before stealing jewelry and cash.

Also linked to the incidents are Jonathan Vargas, 38, and Ian Ayers, 36, both of Chicago. Ayers and Vargas pleaded guilty, but have not yet been sentenced.