ATLANTA — Newly released body camera video shows the dramatic moment Atlanta police rescued two young sisters from a southwest Atlanta trailer and arrested the woman accused of kidnapping them.
The footage captures officers storming the trailer Monday after hearing children crying inside, ending a nearly two-day search for 4-year-old Zola Cooper and her 11-month-old sister, Norah.
Police found the girls hidden under a blanket inside the trailer alongside 42-year-old Lakesha Brown, according to warrants obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
“Put your hands up!” officers can be heard yelling as they entered the trailer off Sylvan Road.
The girls were safely recovered and reunited with their family.
New details emerge from arrest warrants
According to a nine-page arrest warrant, investigators located Brown after her cellphone pinged in the Sylvan Road area, about five miles from where authorities say the girls were last seen.
Atlanta police have not said how long Brown and the children had been staying inside the trailer before officers found them.
Investigators described the trailer as “unclean and unsuitable” for children. Warrants state Brown endangered the girls’ health by keeping them in the trailer during temperatures that reached 97 degrees while the trailer had no air conditioning.
Brown is being held without bond in the Fulton County Jail on charges including kidnapping and cruelty to children.
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Mother says she trusted Brown
The girls’ mother, Elicia Redding, told Channel 2 she met Brown through a Facebook group for expectant mothers.
Redding said Brown had offered support during her pregnancy and that she had known her for nearly a year before Brown volunteered to watch the girls.
“I thought it was just going to be a day out. I trusted her, and she broke that trust,” Redding said.
Police say Brown kidnapped the children Saturday evening instead.
“You can’t trust nobody,” Redding said.
Suspect also accused of kidnapping newborn in Alabama
Channel 2 learned Brown was previously indicted in Alabama in a strikingly similar case involving a newborn baby.
Authorities in Jefferson County, Alabama, accused Brown of kidnapping 4-day-old Kamarion Taylor in 2021.
According to investigators, Brown had agreed to help care for the child’s mother, Brionna Washington, and her newborn son. Washington later woke up from a nap to discover Brown and the infant were gone, authorities said.
The newborn was eventually recovered safely.
Brown pleaded not guilty in that case and was scheduled to stand trial in May. However, prosecutors say she failed to appear in court.
Following Brown’s arrest in Atlanta, Alabama prosecutors filed a motion seeking to revoke her $100,000 bond and have her extradited to Alabama to face prosecution.
Alabama mother says Atlanta kidnapping was preventable
The mother in the Alabama case told Channel 2’s Ashlyn Webb she believes the kidnapping of the two Atlanta girls could have been prevented.
Speaking by phone, she said she does not believe the latest kidnappings would have happened if Brown had remained in custody while awaiting trial in her son’s case.
The similarities between the two cases have raised questions about how Brown was able to allegedly gain the trust of mothers before being accused of taking their children.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Brown remains in the Fulton County Jail without bond.
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