Kidnapping arrest made for teen found shot, stabbed at Mobile church
By Jonathan Grass | jgrass@al.com
Mobile, AL
Mobile police have made an arrest in the case of a 17-year-old who was shot and stabbed earlier this month.
Michael Reed (Mobile County Jail)
The male victim was found in the truck of a car the morning of Dec. 13. The car was outside Corpus Christi Church on McKenna Drive.
Police say the teen was shot in the leg and also had a stab wound. His injuries were not life-threatening. He was treated at the hospital and later released.
Police have determined that the man who was taking care of the victim was responsible for the crime.
Michael Reed, 55, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Mobile police spokeswoman Charlette Solis said Reed and the victim were staying at a hotel when the incident happened. Reed's story differs greatly from the video evidence, according to investigators.
Solis said Reed told officers a stranger broke into their hotel room with a gun and baseball bat. Reed claimed this assailant hit the victim with the bat then made them drive out to a dark area, she said.
Reed allegedly told police this stranger shot the teen, made Reed put him in the trunk then fled.
Solis said security video from both the hotel and church showed only Reed and the victim, and there was no third person present.
She said the video helped prove Reed is the one who shot him, stabbed him and drove off with him.
Police say Reed has been raising the victim since he was 14 years old. Solis said Reed claimed to be the teen's uncle, but they are not related.
It was not immediately clear why Reed was taking care of him.
Solis said the victim is now safe.