Ayvani Perez, Teen Abducted by Gunmen After Mother Couldn't Provide Money or Jewelry During Home Invasion, Found Alive
A 14-year-old Georgia girl allegedly abducted on Tuesday morning by two gunmen frustrated that her mother did not have money or jewelry to give them during a violent home invasion has been found alive.
According to an ABC report, Clayton County Police said the girl, Ayvani Hope Perez, was found safe and two suspects are now in police custody.
"This is a good day for the family," said Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter during a press conference on Wednesday.
He said "hardcore law enforcement, boots to the ground," helped police find the missing girl who was in good health. She is, however, undergoing evaluation.
Wildrego Jackson, 29, of Atlanta, and Juan Alberto Contreras-Rodriguez, a 40-year-old Mexican national were identified by the FBI as the suspects in the case. Two more potential suspects highlighted in composite drawings are also still being sought.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, local and federal officials searched for the girl nearly 36 hours while her family tried to come up with a $10,000 ransom her captors had demanded for her safe return.
The ABC report noted that Perez was in her pajamas when two men allegedly broke in the back door of her Ellenwood, Ga., home at about 2:15 a.m. When Perez's mother said the family didn't have any money or jewelry to give them, they reportedly shot the family dog and took off with the girl. The family had only been living in the neighborhood for about a month.
Jackson now faces a federal charge of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He reportedly served about a year of a five-year cocaine possession sentence from 2006 to 2007. He also has a record of more than 12 arrests in Fulton County, including cocaine possession, child cruelty and attempted burglary.
