Four men were arrested after police said they held an Indiana woman against her will while demanding the money from her coronavirus relief check.
Police said the lengthy incident occurred last weekend around 1:30 a.m. when the four men broke into the woman’s Lake Station home, according to court documents obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. The men allegedly knew the woman and used a stolen key to get into her residence.
Lake County Police Chief James Richardson said the men woke her up, took her phone, and demanded the money. One man, Christopher Henderson, is accused of pointing a gun at the woman’s head. He allegedly released the gun’s clip to prove to her it was loaded and, referring to the bullets, said, “these are for you.”
Another man, Phillip Guzman, is accused of assaulting the woman before the others were able to hold him back. The other men involved were identified as Paul Blankenship and Jacob Baughman.
The incident continued for hours until about 6 a.m. when the men left. The crew allegedly threatened the woman not to leave the home, but she went to the police, and all of the men were later arrested.
The four men were hit with a litany of charges, including burglary with a deadly weapon, criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, and attempted armed robbery. Three of the men are being held on $75,000 bail, while Blankenship was held without bail.
