A 28-year-old Elgin man has been charged with armed violence, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint following a South Elgin Police Department investigation of an incident at first believed to be an attempted kidnapping a teenage driver who was changing a flat tire in the early morning hours of Thursday, April 28, on Randall Road.

According to South Elgin police and media reports, Jorge D. Castaneda, of the 0-100 block Lynch Street in Elgin, was charged with purposefully damaging the tires of an 18-year-old woman’s vehicle, then following her and offering to help change the tire in the parking lot of Home Depot, 440 Randall Road.

The incident was initially described as an attempted kidnapping, and South Elgin police sought the public’s help in locating the man. They released an artist’s rendering of the suspect, who had been wearing a hoodie at the time of the incident.

Police credited the area media for helping to get the word out and said tips from the public helped the investigation. Castaneda was arrested Wednesday at his place of work in Lombard, according to a Tribune report.

Castaneda appeared today (Thursday, May 5, 2016) in Kane County bond court. His bail was set at $300,000.

Charges against Castaneda are not proof of guilt. He is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

ORIGINAL POST APRIL 29, 2016

South Elgin Police Report Attempted Kidnapping on Randall Road

The South Elgin Police Department has issued a press release seeking the public’s help finding a man who reportedly attempted to kidnap a teenage driver who was changing a flat tire in the early morning hours of Thursday, April 28, on Randall Road.

According to the South Elgin Police Department news release, officers responded at about 12:26 a.m. Thursday to a reported of an attempted kidnapping in the parking lot of Home Depot, 440 Randall Road.

An 18-year-old female had a flat tire as she was driving her vehicle south on Randall Road, when male subject described as Hispanic or Eastern European in his late 30s and wearing a hoodie approached her and advised that he would help her change her tire, reports said.

The female pulled into the parking lot, and the male subject assisted in changing her tire. The subject attempted to pull her out of her vehicle. The female fought the subject off, and the male subject left southbound on Randall Road in a possible gray/green Saturn type vehicle. No license plate was available.

lf anyone has information related to this case, please contact South Elgin Police Department Investigations at 847 -741-2151.

SOURCE: South Elgin Police Department news release, media reports