Urbana kidnapped victim makes distress call to 911

Urbana police this week made an arrest following a distress call to 911 from a man who reported he’d been beaten and dragged into an apartment.

Urbana police Chief Matt Lingrell said Richard L. Bowser, Jr., 40, is now in a Champaign County jail on charges of robbery, kidnapping and abduction.

About 5 a.m. Tuesday, the 28-year-old male victim called police from his cell phone while inside the bathroom of an apartment in the 300 block of West Church Street.

He told emergency dispatchers he’d been assaulted in the street and then dragged by multiple men into an apartment where he was being held against his will.

The victim told police he knew one of the men by the name “Juice,” according to a press release.

Officers responded and determined which apartment the victim was being held in.

Two men, including Bowser, exited the apartment and were detained. Officers then forced entry into the apartment and took an additional two men and one woman into custody, according to Lingrell.

The beating victim ran to police and had visible injuries to his face and head, police said. The man was taken to Urbana Mercy Hospital for treatment.

Police took four men and a woman into custody for questioning, including Bowser.

“While additional investigative work is pending in this case, police released everyone except for Bowser,” Lingrell said in a release.

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