CHICAGO—An individual suspected of abducting and assaulting a Lansing, Ill. woman from her home late last week is now facing federal charges in connection with the kidnapping, announced John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Dennis Murrin, Jr., Chief of the Lansing Police Department; and Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

CARLEOUS CLAY, 33, of Lansing, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon in Holland, Michigan, and held on a local parole violation warrant. He was charged in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of kidnapping, a felony offense. Clay is currently being held in Michigan, and court proceedings have not yet been scheduled.

According to the complaint, the victim arrived at her home on the night of September 17 and walked into a burglary in progress. The robber allegedly came at the victim with a hammer, forced her into the trunk of her car and drove to Munster, Indiana, where he was captured by bank surveillance videos at two ATMs. The complaint states that the victim’s vehicle was next seen on surveillance video at approximately 2:00 a.m. the next morning in Burns Harbor, Indiana, where the victim was recovered. Later that morning, law enforcement officers found the victim’s car at an apartment complex in Holland, Michigan.

Following the airing of two images from the bank surveillance video by Chicago media outlets, law enforcement received two anonymous tips identifying the individual in the photos as Clay. Three acquaintances of Clay also identified him in the surveillance photos. On September 21, 2015, the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Virginia preliminarily reported that Clay’s DNA profile was consistent with a DNA sample taken from the victim’s body.

If convicted of the charge filed against him, Clay faces a possible sentence of up to life in prison.

Acting SAC Brown and Chief Murrin thanked the many law enforcement partners who contributed to the investigation that led to the arrest and charges, including the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, Michigan State Police, Michigan State Police Western Enforcement Team, Ottawa County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office, and Porter (Indiana) and Holland Police Departments. The Illinois and Michigan Departments of Correction also provided significant support.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.