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Illinois man alleges he was robbed of cash while buying back his stolen car

By Linda Spice/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

An Illinois man came to Madison and made some new friends who turned out to be anything but buddies after they robbed him, stole his car, made him pay $500 to get it back but then kept the cash and later crashed the car, according to a Madison police report.

“The story does sound unusual, but we’ve not been able to prove or disprove the details,” said Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain. “He’s told us this is what happened. We’ll now take a look at his chronology of things and what he says transpired in order to determine whether or not these things happened the way he said they did.”

The 29-year-old victim told police he came to the city to meet up with friends on Friday but could not find them. While looking for his friends, two men approached his 2001 Buick Century while he was parked at the Villager Mall on Park St. He decided to go to a bar with the men, allowing one of them to drive his car.

On the way to the nightclub, however, the men picked up two more guys. As they were about to enter the bar parking lot on Applegate Road, the driver stopped and ordered the car owner out. At the same time, one of the men in the backseat pulled out a gun, demanding the victim’s money and cell phone.

The victim complied and then the men left in his car. The man contacted Madison police to report the robbery.

He called police again on Saturday, reporting that he had been victimized again.

This time, he had contacted the alleged robbers by calling his cell phone. He arranged to meet them and was to provide $500 in return for his own car. The men took the money but did not return the car, the man reported to police.

A few hours later, about 10:30 a.m., Madison police spotted the man’s car traveling on Taft St. As an officer turned on his lights and siren and attempted to stop the Buick, the driver crashed into a light pole on Beld St. Two occupants ran and were not caught.

They were still being sought on Tuesday.