A Tennessee man was arrested Sunday, May 5, after he attempted to steal a car and kidnap a toddler from a mother in a church parking lot in Madison. Around 10 a.m., Javaunn Brown, 30, tried to take the car keys from a woman who was getting her 3-year-old son out of his car seat at Abundant Life Living Word Church.
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According to WKRN, when Brown approached the woman, she asked if he was there to attend the church. He then asked her about an apartment complex in the area after which he tried to get her to hand over her keys. When she began calling for help, he attempted to take her son from the car.
Tennessee Man Was a Repeat Offender
Church members came outside to assist the woman, at which point Brown said that he was “working for the president” and going to “blow up” the church. He then fled the scene.
When the police arrived, they learned a burglary alarm had been set off at Nashville Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church, approximately 0.2 miles away. Officers went to inspect the alarm and discovered Brown partly inside a church van.
They chased him into an empty home, where a SWAT team found him hiding and took him into custody. He was charged with especially aggravated attempted kidnapping, attempted carjacking, and evading arrest and is being held on a $40,000 bond.
Records show that Brown is a repeat offender. His latest charges bring him up to 10 misdemeanors and three felonies. Past charges include criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
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Facebook posts show that on that Sunday, Abundant Life Living Word Church was holding a celebration for “26 years of extraordinary ministry” and honoring the church’s “esteemed leaders, Regional Bishop A.E. & Elect Lady Pamela Harris.”
