JACKSON, Miss. – A former Alabama basketball player and six other people have been indicted on federal charges they conspired to kidnap a 6-year-old girl from an east Mississippi elementary school.
Among those named in the indictment unsealed Wednesday was 18-year-old Devonta Pollard, who played this past season as a freshman.
Prosecutors say his mother, Jesse Mae Brown Pollard, led a scheme to kidnap the girl to pressure the child's mother in a land dispute. Authorities say at one point kidnappers demanded a $50,000 ransom.
An attorney for Devonta Pollard says they will defend him vigorously. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison. His mother faces a more serious charge that carries a potential life sentence.
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