North Texas man arrested after kidnapping his infant son, sheriff says
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas - A North Texas man is in jail after being accused of kidnapping his one-year-old son, assaulting another person with a baseball bat, and trying to kidnap the mother of his child, deputies with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office say.
Aggravated Kidnapping
What we don't know:
On April 21, Tarrant County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to an aggravated kidnapping in the 13000 block of Highway 287 in Haslett just before 7:30 p.m.
When deputies arrived, they found the suspect, 29-year-old Ronny Leon, had allegedly assaulted another person with a baseball bat and tried to kidnap the mother of his child, and the child.
Deputies say Leon then took the child by force and sped away with the child in his lap. Deputies began chasing Leon, but stopped because of the dangerous high speeds.
The Texas Department of Public Safety was contacted for help and they issued an Athena Alert. Alerts were also sent to surrounding states, and as far north as Indiana.
What is an Athena Alert?: What you need to know
After the 2022 disappearance of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Wise County, a new bill was signed into law that created a version of an Amber Alert known as the ‘Athena Alert.’ Here's what it means.
Deputies say Leon stayed in contact with the mother, who worked with detectives to lure him back to North Texas.
When he arrived at the agreed-upon location, Leon was taken into custody and the child was recovered.
According to a news release issued on Tuesday, deputies say he was booked into the Wise County Jail.
What we don't know:
Tarrant County officials did not say when Leon was arrested, or where he took the child after the chase on April 21.
Leon is currently not listed in the Wise County Jail.
His official charges have not been announced.
FOX 4 News has reached out to Tarrant County officials for more information.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.