Jashayla Hopson Update: Former teacher is charged with kidnapping 6-year-old from school
(CBS) NORTHPORT, Ala. - A 54-year-old woman has been denied bond after federal prosecutors allege she kidnapped 6-year-old Jashayla Hopson from her Mississippi school Tuesday, reports CBS affiliate WIAT.
Jashayla Hopson was reported missing on Tuesday, prompting an Amber Alert across Mississippi and Alabama. According to the station, an affidavit states that a black female entered an elementary school and took Hopson.
Later on Tuesday, Hopson's mother reportedly got a text that read "don't call the police I will call you later if you call the police you wont see her again."
According to Clarion Ledger, the woman who allegedly kidnapped Hopson and sent the text is Jesse Mae Brown Pollard, a well-liked former teacher and basketball coach. Federal prosecutors alleged at a bond review hearing that Pollard had an earlier argument with the girl's mother, the Clarion Ledger reports.
Thursday, Pollard reportedly appeared in handcuffs before a federal judge, who denied her bond.
Police said the phone used to text the girl's mother was purchased from a Walmart store about 30 minutes before the text was sent. Police later confirmed that Pollard purchased the phone by reviewing surveillance video, according to WIAT.
Wednesday, Hopson was found unharmed in Enterprise, Mississippi. She told investigators "she was picked up at school by a black female that she did not know who was called 'Jocelyn'. Jocelyn led Hopson outside to a brown four door vehicle and put her inside."
Pollard was allegedly joined by another woman later and stayed overnight at a hotel. The next day, prosecutors said she left the girl on the side of a rural road and told her to wait for her mother, the Clarion Ledger reports. Hopson reportedly walked to a nearby home.
WIAT reports that a criminal complaint was filed against Pollard on Thursday.