Father Charged w/ Non-Custodial Kidnapping of Pascagoula Boy

A 6 year old Pascagoula boy is home safe after police say his father kidnapped him from Raising Cane’s restaurant Wednesday night.

Maurice Johnson, 33, from Maryland, is charged with non-custodial kidnapping. Johnson came to Pascagoula for an unscheduled visit with his son. The child’s grandmother allowed Johnson to meet them at Raising Cane’s on Highway 90. Police say when the child’s grandmother turned her back, Johnson grabbed the child, ran to his vehicle, and fled toward Alabama on Interstate 10. An Amber Alert was issued and Alabama police officials arrested Johnson two and a half hours later.

Captain James Deshannon Massey of the Pascagoula Police Department says, “Once Alabama called us and advised us he was in custody, detectives from our agencies, along with the grandmother, went to Butler County last night and went and retrieved the child and they reunited.”

Johnson is being held at the Butler County Jail in Greenville, Alabama, awaiting signed extradition papers before he can be brought back to Pascagoula.