Revealed: Mother of abducted Georgia teen was once busted for drugs with man arrested in her daughter's kidnapping
The mother of a teen snatched from her Georgia home Tuesday was once arrested
on charges she was helping a man pegged to her daughter's abduction to traffic in 500 pounds of marijuana.
Police first believed that Ayvani Perez, 14, was snatched in a random home invasion, but new revelations about her mother Maria Magdalena Corral’s 2012 arrest on charges of trafficking $300,000 worth of pot cast serious doubt on the theory.
Locked up with Corral on the massive drug charge was Juan Alberto Contreras-Ramirez, 40, who was arrested Wednesday in connection to Perez’s harrowing abduction that came to a merciful end Wednesday when Perez was retued to her family.
Along with 29-year-old Wildrego Jackson, Contreras-Ramirez was nabbed during a massive manhunt that began in the early moing hours Tuesday after two men broke into Corral’s Ellenwood, Georgia home and took the teen girl when they left.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released sketches of the two African American men and an alert was raised asking people to keep an out for them and the grey sedan in which they drove away after shooting the family dog and taking the girl hostage.
At the time, police believed the crime was random. They had only lived in the house for a month, Corral said. And even after Wednesday’s arrest, the two kidnappers remained suspects in the crime and at large.
Snatched: Armed invaders stole Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, away from her family Tuesday and shot her dog. She was safely retued Wednesday
The terrifying incident, which saw the shooting of the innocent family dog, seemed like a quintessential shattering of suburban tranquillity.
But a new twist came Thursday when WSB-TV leaed that the kidnapped girl’s mother was arrested in February 2012 with Contreras-Ramirez and three other men.
The group was found in Stockbridge, Georgia home where 500 pounds of marijuana and $3,000 cash were uncovered during a drug raid, according to the Henry Daily Herald.
Corral is not believed to have been living in the home.
Contreras-Ramirez and Corral were later released when the charges were dropped, but the new information makes the kidnapping that had a nation fearing the worst for nearly 36 hours appear far from random.
Contreras-Ramirez, a Mexican national, remained behind bars Thursday, though only on immigration-related charges.
Along with him was Wildrego Jackson, a man with an extensive criminal history that includes child cruelty as well as various drug and assault charges. Jackson, whose upwards of 14 aliases have included Wildrego Johnson and Travis Gray, was held on a conspiracy to kidnap charge.
Now Perez is home with her family and two men are locked up in connection to her abduction, but the saga is far from over.
‘We believe those two suspects in the drawings are still at large,’ said FBI Special Agent Rick Maxwell.
Clayton County Police Chief Greg Porter also remained confident that an arrest would be made soon.
‘We have more than 100 officers involved,’ he said Wednesday.
In the hours following the kidnapping, friends, family, and even conceed strangers quickly posted Amber Alerts and other announcements on social media.
We got her: Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter made the announcement at a press event Wednesday afteoon but remained tight-lipped about how Perez was recovered
Ongoing: FBI assistant apecial agent Ricky Maxwell announced that two men were in custody but that the men in the police sketches remained at large. He declined to give further details due to the 'ongoing' case
A prayer vigil was also held at a local high school and 150 people attended.
‘She's so nice,’ one attendee told 11alive.com. ‘I don't know why people would do this to her. I'm praying just to get her home safely.’
Another classmate was struggling to come to grips with the situation.
‘I don't get it,’ said Sydney Chaquir. ‘It's not clicking in my mind why somebody would do this to her. It's like a dream.’
Clayton County Georgia police spokesman Phong Nguyen said Tuesday the invasion appears to be completely random.
‘It didn’t appear that they knew each other,’ he said. ‘They just moved in about a month ago.’
Nguyen said the two African American males smashed through a back door of the home and Maria Perez quickly tried to hide her children, but the men found Ayvani.
The men wanted money and jewelry, but Maria had none to give, so they took the girl instead.
The abductors escaped with Perez in a grey Dodge or Chevrolet sedan and were described as wearing dark clothing.
Perez was believed to be in extreme danger and a Levi's Call—Georgia's version of the Amber alert—was activated.
Senseless: Two black males in dark clothing broke into Perez's Ellenwood, Georgia home at 2am Tuesday. When her mother had no valuables, they shot the dog and took Ayvani
Spreading the word: Many friends and even conceed strangers quickly took to social media to spread word of Ayvani's kidnapping and to gather information
Authorities said Wednesday that Perez was healthy at the time of her reunion with her family.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released sketches of the two men who kidnapped Perez from the 3800 block of Brookgate Drive.
Those men are still on the loose and Clayton County police urge anyone who may have information to call (678) 610-4781 immediately.
The search: Investigators quickly fanned out across Georgia with police checkpoints and helicopters searching for Ayvani on Tuesday
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
