Three sentenced in 2022 Houston Co. kidnapping

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala (WDHN) — Three Houston County residents will spend a collective 266 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping a young girl and beating her, attorneys with the United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

On May 14, a federal judge sentenced 20-year-old Molly Michele Jarrett to eleven years in prison, 24-year-old Coby Jerome Jordan to seven years, and Destiny Star Lewis, also 24 years old, to 70 months.

Jarrett, Jordan, and Lewis pled guilty to federal kidnapping charges in early 2024 in connection with a November 2022 kidnapping that went over state lines.

A release from the U.S. DOJ states on November 4, Jarrett, Jordan, and Lewis picked up a young girl in Dale County and began driving around rural parts of the Wiregrass before heading to an abandoned building in Jackson County, Florida.

RELATED: Three arrested in Jackson County Kidnapping, JCSO

At the time of the incident, Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza told WDHN that after the three arrived at the abandoned building, they tied the victim up with duct tape and zip ties and beat her.

Attorneys claim Jordan was the one who bound the victim and beat her, while Jarrett encouraged the violence. Lewis was the one who got the duct tape and zip ties from the vehicle.

Sheriff Valenza says after beating the girl, the three drove her to a secluded area and left her left tied up under a tree before returning to Alabama.

The victim was eventually able to free herself from the bonds and ran to a nearby home to report the crime.

Jordan and Jarrett were captured by Jackson County Deputies two days later on November 6, and Lewis was nabbed on November 10.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com.