Man Who Abducted Mall Guard, Stole Cell Phones Convicted

KANE COUNTY, IL — A 36-year-old Kane County man was convicted on armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping charges in connection with a 2016 incident at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee, prosecutors said.

Cesar Natali-Rodriguez, of the 36W block of Shady Lane in Dundee Township, faces between 10 and 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on several felony charges last week in Kane County Circuit Court, including armed violence, theft and aggravated unlawful restraint.

The charges stem from a Nov. 1, 2016, incident where Natali-Rodriguez and an accomplice, who has not been identified by authorities, went into the mall and used zip ties to bind the hands of a mall guard and covered his eyes with sunglasses that had duct tape over the lenses, according to a news release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.

The duo proceeded to ask the mall guard for information about mall security videos, according to the news release. They then broke into the Cricket Wireless store and the T-Mobile kiosk and stole more than $10,000 worth of cell phones.

Afterward, they took the mall guard to a secluded area of the mall that was under construction, handcuffed him to a drain pipe and then left him there, according to prosecutors. Authorities used DNA evidence found on the zip ties and sunglasses to link Natali-Rodriguez to the crime.

Natali-Rodriguez is being held at the Kane County Jail and his bail has been revoked. He is next expected in court at 1:30 p.m. on May 7 for a sentencing.