25 August 2023 , 15:18
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A Detroit, Michigan, woman and two teenagers have been arrested by authorities for allegedly befriending a new mother and subsequently kidnapping her 14-day-old twin babies.
Police rushed to a hotel in Livonia, and arrested the suspects; Shantell Re-Azia Jones, 23, Curtis Lee Slay, 18, and Davion Demetrius Sherman Chandler, 19.
All three individuals have been charged with kidnapping after their attempt to abduct the infant twins from the hotel room on Sunday. Wayne County prosecutors have revealed that the trio seized the opportunity when the 30-year-old mother briefly left the room.
They had initially offered their assistance to the new mother, who was in need of help with her newborns. The disappearance of the twin babies lead to an issuance of an Amber Alert.
The department previously released images of the two suspects (Michigan State Police)The Amber Alert is an emergency broadcast system aimed at enlisting public assistance to locate missing children believed to be in immediate danger. The twins, Montana Alexander Bridges and Matthew Jace Bridges, were fortunately returned unharmed to the Detroit Police Department on Monday morning.
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The incident unfolded when the new mother contacted 911 just after 10pm on Sunday to report her missing infants.
Investigations revealed that one of the suspects, Shantell Re-Azia Jones, had managed to establish a rapport with the mother, gaining her trust by offering assistance with her newborns. Her alleged accomplices, Chandler and Slay, reportedly aided Jones in executing the abduction.
All three suspects are facing a multitude of charges, including two counts of kidnapping, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, three counts of larceny, and a single count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Authorities are also considering charges against a juvenile involved in the incident.
Following their arraignment in Livonia's 16th District Court, the presiding magistrate, Barbara Scherr, denied bond for all three suspects. While she did not provide explicit reasons for the denial, she said the charges were 'extremely serious'.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said: "It is hard to imagine a worse scenario for a new mother. The evidence in this case will show that these defendants engaged in a scheme to dupe the mother of these barely two-week-old babies.
"They allegedly promised her some much-needed assistance to gain access to her children with the express intent on stealing them."
At the arraignment, the suspects' attorney asserted that none of them had a prior criminal history. It was revealed that Jones is a single mother with two young daughters and had willingly turned herself in to the police.
The two teenage suspects live with their families in Detroit. The trio is expected to appear at a probable cause conference scheduled for later this month, on August 31.