Thursday, December 11, 2008

Mom Charged In Child/Towing Case in VA

Here's The Free Lance-Star story:

The mother of a 2-year-old girl who was towed away from a Stafford residence Sunday afternoon has been charged with felony child endangerment.

Savannah Mayhew, 22, of Spotsylvania was arrested last night, according to Stafford Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy.

Meanwhile, one of the two Patriot Towing employees also charged with felony child endangerment in the case has been charged with another crime.

Jason Michael Bryant, 25, of Spotsylvania was charged by state police this week with failing to register as a sex offender.

Bryant, who was driving the tow truck Sunday, is accused of not properly registering earlier this year. Sources said he failed to list his correct address.

Bryant was taken to the Rappahannock Regional Jail for the second time this week. He posted a $2,500 bond and was released.

Bryant is listed on the state police sex offender registry. According to the court records, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual battery charge in 2003 in Loudoun County.

He had been charged with aggravated sexual battery, but the charge was reduced.

Bryant got a suspended sentence on the misdemeanor, but later served a 12-month jail sentence after violating his probation, court records show.

Jason Kelly, the owner of Patriot Towing, said he knew nothing about Bryant being a sex offender.

But Kelly said that had nothing to do with Sunday’s arrests, which he maintains are unjust.

According to the Stafford Sheriff's Office, a Mazda Protégé was double-parked Sunday afternoon about 12:45 p.m. when it was spotted by the towing company employees in the 1200 block of Thomas Jefferson Place in southern Stafford.

Mayhew told police that she had went into her mother’s home for about five minutes, but the car was gone when she came back outside.

The Patriot employees called the Sheriff’s Office about four minutes after the mother did. Kelly said the employees didn’t realize there was a child in the car until getting back to the impound lot.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404 kepps@freelancestar.com

1 comment:

Johnny T. Utopia said...

Oh, they didn't realize there was a child in the vehicle but the guy who snatched the vehicle just HAPPENED to be a sex offender?