Des Plaines Kidnapping: Yearlong Investigation Leads To 3rd Arrest

DES PLAINES, IL — A third arrest has been made from a February 2023 incident in which three people were robbed at gunpoint and kidnapped from a Des Plaines car dealership, before being tortured at a McHenry County house. Eric Grens, 33, of the 11000 block of Ballard Road, Woodstock, was arrested Wednesday and charged with three counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated battery.

Grens was due in court Friday, according to the Des Plaines Police Department.

According to police, while holding the victims hostage at a home in Woodstock, some of the team of up to 10 kidnappers burglarized one victim's River North apartment, while other kidnappers remained in the house and tortured the victims.

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The charges for Grens were approved by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Police said Friday that through phone forensics, investigators identified Grens as a "significant participant" in the crimes that occurred on Feb. 10, 2023, continuing into the morning of Feb. 11, 2023. His involvement was confirmed by communications recovered between Grens and a co-defendant.

Greens coordinated the kidnappings and gave instructions to take the victims to his residence in Woodstock. Police said Grens then told the same co-defendant to knock the victims' teeth out and "make them feel like they are going to die." He also said the victims should have been forced to sign over the titles of the vehicles associated with the business, located in the 600 block of E. Northwest Highway in Des Plaines.

On the evening of Feb. 10, about six to 10 people wearing ski masks and armed with rifles and other guns went into the dealership, forced two of the victims into an office, bound their hands, covered their heads, took their phones and beat them, according to prosecutors.

Additionally, physical evidence was recovered from Grens' home in Woodstock following a search warrant shortly after the crime occurred last year. The evidence placed the victims at the residence and confirmed the fact that they were beaten badly in the early morning hours of Feb. 11, 2023. Grens was not at his home when the search warrant was executed, according to police.

Since last year, multiple search warrants were executed at the home by Des Plaines police.

As Patch previously reported, George Athanasokos, who was 24 at the time, began planning the kidnapping in early January and discussed surveillance of the two victims who run the Des Plaines dealership together, according to prosecutors.

Athanasokos and a co-defendant, Brandon Bratcher, who was 27 at the time, were both charged with three counts of aggravated kidnapping and three counts of armed robbery.