Lawyers representing the suspect in the kidnapping of a missing Alabama teen have asked the court to grant bond, claiming that their client has faced death threats from inmates while incarcerated.
According to WIAT, lawyers said the repeated threats have led prison officials to place Ibraheem Yazeed, 30, in Lee County jail’s solitary confinement unit. They asked the judge on Thursday to grant a bond for Yazeed so he could be moved to Montgomery County jail, where they say there are no security issues.
Yazeed has been jailed on first-degree kidnapping charges since his arrest in Escambia County, Florida. He is accused of abducting Aniah Blanchard, 19, from a convenience store on October 23.
A witness reportedly saw Yazeed forcing Blanchard into her car—which was found damaged and covered in her blood at a Montgomery apartment complex two days later. Surveillance footage allegedly also showed Yazeed at the convenience store around the time Blanchard vanished.
Shortly before her disappearance, Blanchard reportedly spoke to a friend and had told her roommate in Snapchat messages that she was meeting a man.
Authorities have been mum regarding the ongoing missing persons case as a judge issued a gag order earlier this week, preventing them from disclosing details regarding Blanchard’s disappearance or Yazeed’s arrest.
At the time of Blanchard’s disappearance, Yazeed was out on bail on attempted murder charges—despite having a lengthy criminal history which includes arrests for kidnapping and robbery. Yazeed’s attorney, Elijah Beaver, pushed back against claims that his client is a career criminal who should have never been on the streets.
“Mr. Yazeed instead has a history of being wrongly accused of serious offenses by the State and held in jail for long periods of time on insufficient evidence, later to be released on insufficient evidence,” Beaver wrote on Thursday, according to AL.com.
Yazeed remains at Lee County Jail without bond, as the presiding judge has not yet responded to his lawyers’ latest request. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for November 20.
Blanchard was described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing approximately 125 pounds, and having brown eyes and brown hair. She was reportedly last seen wearing a black dress, tan duck boots, and black stockings.
Anyone with information regarding Aniah Blanchard’s whereabouts, or an accident involving her vehicle, is urged to contact the Auburn Police Division Detective Section at 334-501-3140 or the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391.
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[Featured image: Aniah Blanchard/Facebook; Ibraheem Yazeed/Escambia County Sheriff’s Office]
