Bonds set for Lee County kidnapping suspects
Mar. 19—TUPELO — Three Kentucky residents, accused of kidnapping three small children at gunpoint from a Shannon area home, appeared before a Lee County judge Sunday morning to have their bonds set.
Douglas Mills, Vanessa Hensley Cox and Shelia Michelle Hood allegedly drove to Mississippi and took Mills' three biological grandchildren on the morning of March 7. The three adults and the three juvenile victims then headed back to eastern Kentucky. The Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled them over between Knoxville and the Tennessee-Kentucky state line.
The three suspects, who could face life in prison if convicted, were returned to Lee County Friday night, about a week after they waived extradition. A scheduling conflict with Lee County Justice Court Judge Phyllis Dye delayed the initial court appearance until Sunday morning at the jail.
Mills, 52, of Barbourville, Kentucky, is charged with breaking and entering an inhabited dwelling and three counts of kidnapping. The breaking and entering charge carries up to 25 years in jail. Under state law, a jury can sentence someone convicted of kidnapping to life in prison.
"Due to the seriousness of the charges, I will be setting your bond at $1 million," Judge Dye said to Mills.
Cox, 45, of Flat Lick, Kentucky, and Hood, 50, of Gray, Kentucky, are each charged with one count of kidnapping. Their bonds were set at $250,000 each.
All three were given a local public defender and at least one is already contemplating her departure from Lee County.
"I have breast cancer and need to get home to put my affairs in order," Hood said. After the judge announced the bond, Hood asked, "Will they 10% that?"
Bail bonding companies will post the bond if the suspect can put up 10% of the total. So if Hood or her family can come up with $25,000, she could be released from the county jail and allowed to return to Kentucky, with the promise that she will return to Lee County for her court dates.
No testimony was presented at the initial appearance about the nature of the crime, the motives or the relationship between Mills and the two women.
Sheriff Jim Johnson said all three have been cooperating with law enforcement.
The incident began around 9 a.m. on March 7 when Mills reportedly arrived at his biological daughter's house in the Shannon area. According to law enforcement investigators, Mills forced his way into the house while brandishing a gun and took his three grandchildren — ages 2, 6 and 8. The women assisted in the kidnapping, but their level of participation is not known.
The mother of the children remained calm and was able to give law enforcement a description of the car Mills was driving and where he would likely be heading. The suspects made it about an hour away from their destination in eastern Kentucky before they were caught. The Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled them over about 15 miles south of the Kentucky state line.
Following their arrest in Tennessee, Mills, Cox and Hood waived extradition back to Mississippi. They remained in the Campbell County Detention Center in Jacksboro, Tennessee for 10 days until Lee County deputy sheriffs arrived around lunchtime Friday, March 17 to start the seven-hour trip to Tupelo. They were booked into the Lee County Jail around 9 p.m. the same night.
