MADISON, Tenn. (WKRN) — A mother and her three-year-old son were nearly kidnapped in the parking lot of a Madison church over the weekend, officials said.
According to court documents, the incident took place outside Abundant Life Living Word Church in the 1100 block of Cheyenne Boulevard on Sunday, May 5.
The woman told officers she was in the process of getting her three-year-old son out of her vehicle when she was approached by 30-year-old Javaunn Brown.
She reportedly asked if he was there to attend church, but instead of answering, he grabbed her hand and asked about the Cumberland View Towers, which is located across the street from the church.
Officials said Brown then pulled her closer and demanded that she give him her car keys. The woman told officers she immediately began to call for help and that’s when Brown allegedly attempted to get in the backseat of her vehicle to remove her three-year-old son.
When church members came outside to confront Brown, he told them that he was going to blow the church up and claimed he worked for the president before fleeing the scene, officials said.
According to an arrest report, when officers arrived on scene they were alerted about a burglary alarm at the Nashville Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which is located next door.
Upon arrival, officers said they found Brown partially inside a church van. He then took off running toward a wood line and led law enforcement on a chase to an unoccupied home on Gilead Court, police said.
After getting permission from the realty company, SWAT officers entered the home and found Brown hiding in an attic. Officials said he was taken into custody and identified “as the suspect who attempted to carjack the victim and kidnap her 3-year-old son.”
Brown was charged with especially aggravated attempted kidnapping, robbery and evading arrest.
He remains jailed on a $71,500 bond.