Three convicted in 2022 Houston Co. kidnapping | WDHN

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

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

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

According to a Nov. 4 U.S. DOJ release, Jarrett, Jordan and Lewis picked up a young girl in Dale County and began driving through rural areas of Wiregrass before heading to an abandoned building in Jackson County, in Florida.

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

Lawyers say it was Jordan who tied up the victim and beat her, while Jarrett encouraged the violence. It was Lewis who retrieved the duct tape and zip ties from the vehicle.

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

The victim eventually managed to free himself from the restraints and ran to a nearby house to report the crime.

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