2nd person accused of posing as ICE agent in kidnapping surrenders

A second person accused of kidnapping an Orland Park man while pretending to be a federal agent has turned himself in to face felony charges.

Jaime Ortiz, of the 8000 block of South Houston Avenue in Chicago, is accused of aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated kidnapping related to the Oct. 11 incident in the south suburb.

Ortiz, 37, was ordered held on $200,000 bail.

Prosecutors said three offenders wearing ski masks and Immigration and Customs Enforcement jackets put a gun to the victim’s head outside an Orland Park apartment building, handcuffed him and drove him to an undisclosed location in Chicago. One of the abductors also took the victim’s car.

The victim said he was bound, gagged, blindfolded and told that he needed to come up with $15,000 or he would be tortured and killed, prosecutors said. The abductors also demanded the man’s personal identification number for his debit card and withdrew about $800 from an ATM.

Authorities said the kidnapping was not random and that the victim was targeted after agreeing to meet another man in the parking lot that night to loan him money. It was unclear Sunday what role — if any — that man played in the kidnapping plot.

The victim was released early the next morning at a fast-food restaurant, and police located his car in Chicago. As the victim answered questions at the police station, he received several phone calls seeking the title to his car and more money.

Prosecutors said police connected Ortiz and a co-defendant to the crime through cellphone technology. The co-defendant, Denise Dominguez, 29, of Gary, was arrested earlier this month on similar charges and an arrest warrant was issued for Ortiz.

He turned himself in to police on Saturday.

Ortiz must post $20,000 to be released on home-electronic monitoring. His defense attorney, Jayne Ingles, said he does not have a prior criminal record. She said Ortiz works as a health care provider and takes care of his elderly mother.

“There is far more to this story,” Ingles told the judge during a bond court hearing, questioning why the victim waited hours after his release before calling police.