The girl was reportedly able to break free from the man and ran back home after the initial abduction, weeks before police say he was spotted again lurking outside of her home.
After a terrifying abduction and kidnapping ordeal that she managed to free herself from in November 2024, a 7-year-old girl was endangered again just a few weeks later.
A 19-year-old man in Tennessee has now been taken into custody after visiting the victim’s home at least twice in that month. This after a neighbor who encountered him two weeks after the alleged kidnapping was able to recognize him in a police lineup.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Memphis Police Department and seen by Law & Crime, Jeremiah Smith has been charged with felony aggravated kidnapping for the November 6 incident.
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The mother of the victim contacted police just after 4 a.m. after her daughter came to her bedroom and told her “someone took her from her bed,” according to the legal filing.
The victim recounted for police the man allegedly walking into her room, covering her mouth and taking her to the apartment complex’s basketball court, per CrimeOnline.
“She advised that while she was in bed, an unknown Black male, thin build, with possibly curly type hair or hair style, [wearing a] dark colored hoodie, and black pants, entered her room and grabbed her, covering her mouth,” the police affidavit stated.
“He put his hand through the window, unlocked the door, and came on in,” the vicitm’s mother told Memphis CBS affiliate WREG of how the alleged kidnapper gained access to her daughter’s room.
“The victim then advised she was carried to a basketball park in the apartment complex where she was able to remove herself from the suspects grasp,” the arrest affidavit continued. “She then advised the suspect picked her back up before pushing her to the ground. The victim advised that she was again eventually able to break free from the suspects grasp and ran back home.”
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In their ensuing investigation, police reviewed surveillance footage of the area that night, which captured the incident and matched the girl’s account.
Just over two weeks later, according to police, they returned to the apartment at approximately 5:40 a.m. on November 24 after the victim’s mother called and said she’d seen the suspect lurking near her back door. Security footage corroborated her story, with the man wearing “similar” clothing to the night of the abduction.
After that incident, the neighbor who owned the surveillance camera told police the man had approached him and asked if he had a cigarette, per the affidavit. He claimed that his aunt lived next door, according to the neighbor, but the neighbor, who was familiar with the victim’s family, told police he suspected the man was lying.
The neighbor was subsequently able to positively identify Smith in a six-person lineup, culminating in his eventual arrest. WMC Memphis reports Smith lived in the same complex as his alleged victim.
Smith is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $150,000 bond. His preliminary court appearance is scheduled for January 15.
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