Here are a few of the criminal law stories that have recently occurred around the state of Alabama:
- Jefferson County sheriff’s office deputies arrested and charged 27-year-old mother, Derick Irisha Brown, with three counts of kidnapping, second-degree assault, attempting to elude and four counts of reckless endangerment for allegedly kidnapping her three daughters at gunpoint after losing custody amid investigations of abuse. The deputies were called to the home of the children’s guardian, a relative, early last Friday morning after receiving a call about the kidnapping. The relative told police that she was loading the children (5-year-old twins and a 2-year-old) into her car when Brown pulled up in a silver Buick SUV, pointed a handgun at her, took the children and fled the scene. According to the relative, the night before the kidnapping DHR had removed the children from the custody of their mother as part of a safety plan. After putting out a lookout bulletin, the police found Brown and her children at a Fairfield on Friday afternoon. Brown got in her SUV with the children and attempted to flee authorities, but she soon crashed into an innocent motorist and a sheriff’s SUV. Fortunately, the children were rescued unharmed. Brown is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail on bonds totaling $209,000.
- A pair of Gadsden brothers face felony charges of first-degree arson after allegedly using a Molotov cocktail to torch a neighbor’s home. Last Sunday night, police responded to a report of two men walking down the street, carrying a Molotov cocktail. They soon received a second call about the fire in the back of a house. After the Gadsden Fire Department found and extinguished the fire, the police’s further investigation determined that the fire was a result of an on-going dispute between neighbors. Three days later, police took 42-year-old Melvin Floyd Leonard into custody, and is now being held in Etowah County Jail on a $100,000 bond.Gadsden police also confirmed that have obtained an arrest warrant for Melvin’s 47-year-old brother, Jimmy Dewayne Leonard, who remains at large.
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