Aniah Blanchard missing: Ibraheem Yazeed wanted in connection with missing Alabama teen

Kirsten Fiscus | Montgomery Advertiser

A person of interest, with a lengthy criminal history in a couple states that includes kidnapping and attempted murder, has been identified by Auburn police in the disappearance of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard.

Ibraheem Yazeed, 29, was captured on surveillance video inside the convenience store where Blanchard was last seen on Oct. 23. Auburn police Chief Paul Register said Thursday that there is evidence that points to Yazeed taking Blanchard against her will, though he declined to say specifically what that evidence is.

U.S. Marshals are actively looking for Yazeed, according to a news release from Auburn police. A warrant on a charge of first-degree kidnapping was issued against Yazeed. He should be considered dangerous and potentially armed, according to the release.

He was observed leaving the area in what is believed to be a late 2000's model Lincoln Town Car that was gray or silver in color.

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Further investigation and analysis of evidence has determined that Yazeed was at the same location Blanchard was last seen and is involved in taking the teen against her will. Additional charges or arrests are anticipated, according to the release.

Days after Blanchard was last seen, her black, Honda CR-V was recovered at a Montgomery apartment complex, about 55 miles west of where the teen was last seen. There was damage to the passenger side that her family said was not present prior to that day. On Thursday, police confirmed they suspect foul play based on evidence recovered inside the vehicle.

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Reward money for information regarding Blanchard's disappearance jumped to $105,000 on Oct. 31.

Register said during a conference with media that Yazeed could be anywhere.

"We know he has associations throughout the area, but we are actively looking in all areas at this point. Nothing is out of play as far as here we've looked," he said, according to video of an interview by WTVM.

Register said it's still unknown if Blanchard was familiar with Yazeed prior to the alleged kidnapping.

"We don't have any reason to know that she was familiar with him but we certainly can't rule out completely that there would have been some knowledge," the chief said. "But at this point we don't have knowledge she knew him."

There may be more people involved in Blanchard's disappearance.

"We do anticipate other arrests, so we do think there's a likelihood someone else is involved in this case and we hope to bring that person to justice as well," Register said.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Auburn Police Division Detective Section at 334-501-3140, the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391, or the 24-hour non-emergency number at 334-501-3100.

Who is Ibraheem Yazeed?

Yazeed is a Montgomery man with a lengthy criminal history.

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He first appeared to run afoul of the law in April 2011 when he was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery. Yazeed, and three other unnamed co-defendants, robbed two men at gunpoint of about $2,700 in cash, two wallets, a $50 money order and a cellphone at the Good Night Inn on West South Boulevard, according to court records.

Those cases were ultimately dismissed by a grand jury.

In January 2012, Yazeed allegedly rammed a vehicle into a Montgomery police officer’s patrol car in an attempt to kill two officers as they exited the vehicle at a Chevron gas station on East South Boulevard.

Those cases were also dismissed by a grand jury, according to court records.

Yazeed faced gun and drugs charges in 2013

In September 2013, Yazeed was charged with possession of a pistol without a permit and first-degree possession of marijuana. According to the arrest affidavits, Yazeed was found “hanging over the entrance gate” to the Blount Mansion on Taylor Road. The officer then conducted a search of his vehicle after smelling marijuana and discovered a bag of the substance under the driver’s seat along with a pistol.

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About two weeks after that interaction with law enforcement, an officer attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle Yazeed was driving, according to court records. He failed to stop, hopping a grassy median to get to another parking lot before jumping out of the still moving vehicle and fleeing to a wooded area. The officer caught him a short time later.

Police found about 3 grams of crack cocaine in the area Yazeed was apprehended. A search of the vehicle revealed 16 grams of marijuana and rolling papers. He was subsequently charged with attempting to elude, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of crack cocaine and second-degree possession of marijuana.

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Yazeed was sentenced but never served prison time on the felonies

Yazeed was indicted on all the September 2013 charges, and he pleaded guilty to them in 2015.

In January 2016, former Circuit Judge William Shashy sentenced Yazeed to serve 30 days in the county jail on the misdemeanor pistol permit charge, and 13 months on the felony drug charge. The sentence for the drug charge, however, was suspended and he was ordered to 6 months probation, according to court records.

Months later, Yazeed was sentenced on the remaining charges. A judge ruled he’d serve 13 months, though that too was suspended.

Three days after his sentencing, Yazeed was charged with trafficking spice, but the case was ultimately dismissed by a grand jury.

Yazeed arrested on assault, drug charges in Kansas

Yazeed then left the city and was arrested by Cass County sheriff’s deputies in Missouri on a warrant from Johnson County, Kansas, in July 2017. He was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement official, aggravated assault, fleeing a law enforcement official and first-degree possession of marijuana. Online court records do not detail the events that led to those charges.

Yazeed remained in the Johnson County Jail until his trial in February 2018. He was found guilty of fleeing a law enforcement official and possession of marijuana but found not guilty of the aggravated assault and battery charges.

A judge in March 2018 sentenced Yazeed to serve 16 months in jail. He was released from the Johnson County Jail six days later, earning credit for the approximately eight months he waited in jail for a resolution to the cases.

Yazeed is back in Montgomery and charged with kidnapping, robbery, attempted murder

Less than a year later, Yazeed was back in the Montgomery County Jail accused of entering a SureStay Hotel on Eastern Boulevard armed with a handgun in January and holding two men against their will with Nicky Terrell Gains and Jessie Dale Ford.

According to court records, the trio beat one victim “until he was unconscious, unresponsive, severely injured and near death.” The other victim was also beaten and injured, according to records.

Before fleeing the scene, the three took a Rolex watch, rifle, handguns, wallets, credit and debit cards, clothing and cash from both the victims.

Yazeed and Ford were captured when Macon County deputies made contact with a vehicle driving erratically down the interstate. Inside the vehicle was a severely beaten 77-year-old man who has been assaulted, robbed and abducted from his vehicle in Montgomery, investigators with the State Bureau of Investigations.

Yazeed was ultimately charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree robbery, attempted murder and first-degree possession of marijuana. He was freed on a combined $295,000 bond, set by a magistrate when the warrants were initially signed, the day after his arrest in February.

Thursday morning, a judge revoked his bond in those cases. They're still awaiting grand jury consideration.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Kirsten Fiscus at 334-318-1798 or KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus