By MIKE CATALINI, Associated Press
The man wanted in the killings of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found abandoned in a front yard last week has been arrested, police in Tennessee said.
Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was taken into custody amid a search on Tuesday, police in Jackson said in a social media post. Police later released a photo of Drummond standing in a wooded area wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and looking into the camera.
Drummond’s arrest came shortly after police had warned residents to stay inside their homes, having received a report that he was spotted in a neighborhood. Jackson is more than 100 miles southwest of Nashville.
Further details about Drummond’s arrest weren’t immediately available, and it was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Dyer and Lake counties District Attorney Danny Goodman said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that Drummond shot the family members. Drummond is expected in court in Tiptonville for an arraignment later this week.
Hours before the arrest, Jackson Police posted a roughly 20-second video surveillance clip showing someone they said was Drummond, wearing camouflage and carrying a firearm, trying to enter the door of an unspecified building.
Drummond already faces four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses, officials have said.
The investigation into the family’s killings began July 29 after an infant in a car seat was found in a front yard in the Tigrett area. The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that a caller reported a minivan or mid-size SUV had dropped the infant at a “random individual’s front yard.”
The sheriff’s office later said they were working with investigators in neighboring Lake County, where four people had been found dead. Officials determined those people were the child’s parents, grandmother and uncle.
Authorities later identified those people as James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15.
Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the infant’s parents, while Rose was Adrianna and Braydon Williams’ mother.
Investigators determined the four relatives had not been seen since the night before, according to District Attorney Danny Goodman. A relative had called 911 after finding two vehicles in a remote area, and the four bodies were found in nearby woods, Goodman said.
Many questions remain, including how the baby ended up in the Tigrett area, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the bodies.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch has said it’s believed the killings were a targeted attack by Drummond, who had a relationship with the victims. The baby is safe and being cared for, authorities have said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has already charged Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovonte Thomas, 29, with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Investigators allege both men “assisted” Drummond, 28, in the killings.
Drummond’s criminal history includes prison time for robbing a convenience store and threatening to go after jurors. He was also charged with attempted murder while behind bars.
An attorney who represented him as a teenager had not returned earlier messages from The Associated Press.