COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Prosecutors have charged a suburban man with helping a woman kidnap and rob someone she met through an online dating site.
Authorities said Jermaine Bufkin, 35, of Bolingbrook beat the victim with a gun before he and Latasha Smith, 28, bound the man with duct tape, stole his keys and robbed his family at gunpoint on Nov. 21.
Smith was charged last month, and Bufkin appeared in court Tuesday after victims identified him as an accomplice.
Smith first met the 28-year-old victim last year through an online dating site called Badoo, prosecutors said.
She spent the night at his Woodlawn home on Nov. 20, and while running an errand with him the next day, met up with Bufkin, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said in court Tuesday.
Bufkin struck the victim in his head with a gun, and bound his arms and legs with duct tape, prosecutors said. According to an arrest report, he and Smith took $600, keys and an iPhone from the man.
The pair then joined unknown accomplices at the victim's home, where they robbed his mother and brother at gunpoint, Antonietti said.
At a bond hearing last month, prosecutors said the group stole $6,000 from the victim's mom, who had been saving for a new apartment. They also took a handgun and ammunition from the brother, who had obtained the gun legally and had a valid FOID card.
Smith was charged in December with six felonies, including kidnapping and home invasion, and held on $300,000 bail.
On Monday, police arrested Bufkin, who was wanted on a warrant for forgery. He was charged with aggravated kidnapping with a firearm and aggravated home invasion with a firearm, and held on $300,000 bail.
Authorities didn't say how Smith and Bufkin knew each other, or why there was a delay between arrests.
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