3 men charged with kidnapping man in Lombard

Three men are accused of kidnapping and beating a man Wednesday during a dispute over selling a minivan in Lombard.

Philip A. Stamps, 47, and Philip A. Stamps Jr., 22, both of Chicago, and Joevantae J. Dixon, 23, of Hillside, are all charged with aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated battery in a public place, according to court records. All three were released Thursday after pretrial detention hearings.

It happened around 12:03 p.m. at a BP gas station, 5 E. North Ave., according to DuPage County court records.

Stamps Jr. and the victim, a 59-year-old man, had stopped at the gas station during a test drive of an Infiniti Q45. Dixon and Stamps Sr. were in a van following the Infiniti according to court documents.

While the victim and Stamps Jr. were looking at the engine, Dixon and Stamps Sr. got out of the van. Stamps Jr. then took the victim’s briefcase out of the car and put it in the van, court records show.

The victim went to the van to get the briefcase, which contained a computer and about 40 vehicle titles. The others attacked him and put him in the van, according to court records.

Witnesses called police to report a fight, and police were able to trace the victim’s location by pinging his cellphone.

Stamps Sr., Stamps Jr., and Dixon drove to a mall in North Riverside and several other places before being found in Chicago around 3:13 p.m. at California Avenue and Van Buren Street.

According to court records, Stamps Jr. and Dixon beat and bit the 59-year-old man, and clubbed him with a anti-theft steering wheel bar.

Stamps Sr. told police he previously had purchased a minivan from the victim for $1,500, and he wanted his money back; two tires had blown out shortly after he bought it, according to court documents. However, the victim offered him a few hundred dollars to junk the minivan, Stamps Sr. added.

Per prosecutors, police said Stamps told them his girlfriend had contacted the victim about buying a car and that he believed the victim was going to “scam” her. So he arranged Wednesday’s meeting using a different phone number.

The victim alleged the defendants tried to take $2,000 from him via cash app transfers, took his debit card, and threatened to kill him and his family.