Local prosecutors are hailing as a hero the grandfather who chased down a child predator more than a year ago when the man snatched his granddaughter in broad daylight from an Ace Hardware store.
A Hamilton County Criminal Court judge on Monday sentenced the admitted kidnapper, Jeremy Mizell, to 25 years in prison for especially aggravated kidnapping and the attempted rape of a child.
After being caught running away from the Ace Hardware store on East Brainerd Road, Mr. Mizell, 37, admitted to police in May 2009 that he had planned to “rape and kill” the girl.
A psychological examiner’s report would later confirm that that Mr. Mizell “has a very high risk for pedophilic behavior.”
Even Mr. Mizell, whose only trouble with the law over the years seemed to stem from a 19-year addiction to huffing gasoline and public drunkenness, told Judge Don Poole Monday that he “needs to be locked up and away from people.”
“Thanks to the grandfather in this case, he saved not only his granddaughter but the entire community from a dangerous pedophile,” Executive Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston said after the sentencing hearing.
The little girl’s grandfather, Kenneth Scoggins, calmly testified at Mr. Mizell’s hearing, describing how a shopping trip to buy flowers for his 6-year-old granddaughter turned into a nightmare.
Mr. Scoggins said the incident happened quickly and that he realized Mr. Mizell was walking off with his granddaughter when his 5-year-old grandson said, “He’s got my sissy.”
Mr. Scoggins testified that he ran after Mr. Mizell, at which point Mr. Mizell let go of the child and told him, “I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
By then Mr. Scoggins’ daughter, the mother of the victim, had called the police. Mr. Scoggins testified that he was keeping a firm watch on Mr. Mizell to make sure he wouldn’t flee.
But when Mr. Mizell heard the sirens, the kidnapper bolted into oncoming traffic on East Brainerd Road in an attempt to escape, Mr. Scoggins said.
Police caught Mr. Mizell minutes later. He’s been incarcerated ever since under a $1 million bond.
Prosecutors dropped an initial charge of attempted murder, saying statements he made about his intent for the child had the kidnapping been successful still could not prove what he might have done.
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