Trini Morado was angry. Someone had broken into the Riverside apartment of a family member, and he had an idea who did it. He wanted to exact a little revenge.
The trouble was he needed a way to lure his suspect outside of his home. To do that he needed the help of a 14-year-old Riverside boy, who was a friend of Morado’s 14-year-old nephew, whose apartment had been burglarized. That friend had the suspect’s address and phone number, and Morado wanted that information.
On the night of Feb. 26, 2010, Morado pounced outside the friend’s Longcommon Road home.
“My uncle wants to talk to you,” Morado’s young nephew told his friend.
Then the 6-foot tall, 300-pound Morado grabbed the boy and shoved him into the back of his green Nissan Maxima before driving to the suspect’s home and luring him outside.
Morado, 39, and his alleged accomplice – his 23-year-old nephew, Steven Morado – botched their attempt at revenge and police arrived on the scene, arresting both men.
In May, Trini Morado was found guilty of kidnapping, and on June 30 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison during a hearing at the Maybrook courthouse.
Morado had been acquitted of eight other charges, including six counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of battery at his trial.
Steven Morado still faces a trial for his role in the kidnapping. He was charged with the same offenses as his uncle.
During Trini Morado’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued for a harsh sentence based in part on the fact that both Steven and Trini Morado also are charged with stalking a Chicago police officer, after that officer arrested of one of Morado’s relatives in April 2010. The Morados were out on bail in the Riverside case when the alleged stalking occurred.
Both men were arrested in November 2010 after allegedly stalking the officer and his family at their Chicago home on four separate occasions. They have been in Cook County Jail since that time.
Both men are scheduled to appear at Cook County Criminal Court on July 7 related to that case.
