Illinois man sentenced to 15 years in prison for kidnapping ex-girlfriend from her Greendale home

An Illinois man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for breaking into his ex-girlfriend's Greendale home, kidnapping her at gunpoint and driving her to Chicago.

In November, Wayne Grills, 57, of Melrose Park, Illinois, pleaded guilty to abducting and kidnapping his ex-girlfriend in June 2018.

The then 38-year-old victim was found held against her will in Grills' garage.

At the sentencing hearing Monday, U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller noted Grills' 16 criminal convictions, including a 2007 armed robbery and burglary conviction in Illinois, and 32 arrests.

"Mr. Grills learned very little when it comes to respect of the law, to respecting family and to respecting the community," Stadtmueller said.

The victim ended her relationship with Grills in September 2017 because of domestic violence. Grills tried repeatedly to contact her, but she blocked his calls and filed a complaint with police, which led to a municipal ticket for harassment.

After not having contact with Grills for 10 months, the woman awoke in the middle of the night to see Grills at the foot of the bed after he broke into the home she shared with her three children.

According to a criminal complaint and Greendale police report:

The victim’s daughter awoke to a commotion and saw her mother being pushed down a hallway by Grills. The victim told her daughter to go back to her room. When she emerged later, her mother was gone. She called police.

Grills forced the victim outside, where he pointed a gun at her and said, “Get in the van or I’ll kill your kids.”

Grills drove her to Illinois, stopping along the way in a secluded area where he forced her to have sex. Grills eventually pulled his car into his garage and left the vehicle without the gun. The victim grabbed the loaded gun and hid it underneath her seat. After Grills confronted her about the gun’s whereabouts, she said she threw it in the garbage.

She fled the garage while he was looking for the gun, but Grills chased her down an alley and dragged her back to the garage.

Meanwhile, police contacted Grills’ cellphone provider and pinged the location of the device, which led them to his home, arriving about five hours after the abduction and arresting Grills.

In addition to the prison sentence, Grills was ordered to pay $8,515 in restitution.