After an Amber Alert was issued Friday morning for two missing children, a local man has been arrested and charged with two counts of kidnapping.
Officers with the Greenville Police Department (GPD) first responded to the 2000 block of Alexander Street at 2:17 a.m. for a kidnapping.
Police were informed 23-year-old Nikolas Hampton arrived at the home and kicked in the back door. Hampton then took his 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old stepson. Hampton was already under a protection order involving the children and their mother.
“A brief struggle did ensue with relatives of the children,” Assistant Police Chief Michael Merchant said.
Hampton had left the scene in a vehicle and it was located a short time later with neither Hampton or the children inside. At that point, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety assisted and issued an Amber Alert for the children.
At about 10:35 a.m., GPD’s Patrol division, Special Operations Division, and the Criminal Investigation Division received information that Hampton and the children were located at the Express Inn on Highway 82 East, where they were all found.
“Officers proceeded to the location and were able to locate the children safe and without incident,” Merchant said.
Hampton was taken into custody and has been charged with two counts of kidnapping and violating a protection order. He does not have a bond at this time.
