An Illinois man is accused of kidnapping a woman, taking her in the trunk of her car to two ATMs in Munster and then sexually assaulting her twice before leaving her in Burns Harbor.
Carleous Clay, 33, of Lansing, Illinois, was arrested Sunday in Holland, Michigan, after friends identified him as the man seen in photos from surveillance videos.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a Lansing woman came home Thursday evening to discover a man, now identified as Clay, robbing her home.
Clay came at her with a hammer and forced her into the trunk of her car, according to the affidavit. He then drove to the First Merchants Bank at 707 Ridge Road in Munster, where surveillance video shows him using the victim’s ATM card to withdraw $140 at 11:47 p.m.
He then drove her and her car to the BMO Harris Bank at 915 Ridge Road at 11:57 p.m. The affidavit says video footage shows him using the ATM there, although it does not say if he used the victim’s card or how much he took.
The victim later told police that he sexually assaulted her in the car after the second withdrawal and then continued to drive around, according to the affidavit.
Another surveillance video shows the victim’s car stopping at a business on U.S. 20 in Burns Harbor at 2 a.m. Sunday. The victim said that Clay sexually assaulted her a second time at this point and then strangled her until she passed out.
When she woke up, her legs were on fire and Clay was gone, according to the affidavit. The woman can be seen in surveillance videos walking, at least part of the way with her legs still on fire, east on U.S. 20, at 2:49 a.m. toward the Pilot Service Station at 243 U.S. 20. Employees called for help when she entered a McDonald’s at the station.
The affidavit says police were only able to speak with the victim when they first responded to the scene because she is still being treated for her injuries.
Police found the victim’s car later that day at an apartment complex in Holland, Michigan. They also released surveillance video of the man to the media that day, which paid off when two anonymous tips identified the man as Clay.
Three of his friends confirmed it was him on Saturday, the affidavit says, and he was arrested Sunday in Holland, although the affidavit does not say if it was the apartment complex where the car was found. He is still being held in Michigan, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
Police searched Clay’s house on Sunday and found a white shirt with blood on it, latex gloves and items that match those taken from the victim’s house, including a television, a laptop and women’s jewelry, the affidavit says.
Police also discovered he lives just three blocks from his victim, and that he used to live at the apartment complex where the woman’s car was found in Michigan, where he is still held.
A DNA sample taken from the victim’s body matched Clay’s DNA on file with Illinois and Michigan prison officials, according to the complaint. Clay also admitted the kidnapping to investigators during a recorded interview on Sunday, according to the complaint.
According to the Illinois Department of Correction’s website, Clay was sentenced to 11 years in prison for attempted armed robbery and served from July 2009 to December 2014, when he was paroled. He is still on parole in that case.
He also was sentenced in 2010 to four to 10 years on a conviction of assault with intent to rob while armed in Michigan and was paroled on that case in May, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections website.
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The release says that no court dates had been scheduled as of Monday evening. It was unclear if he has a lawyer.