Alabama police: Man arrested after taking children from gas station

Published 5:43 am Friday, February 5, 2021

A Texas man is in custody after reportedly abducting two children at an Alabama gas station on Interstate 65.

Bruice Jyrome Jonson, 58, of San Antonio, Texas, was arrested after police in Atmore received a 911 call in response to a male suspect abducting two children from a woman located at a gas station on Jack Springs Road and Interstate 65.

“Atmore police arrived on scene and met with the caller who identified herself as the mother of the children,” Brooks said in a release. “The woman explained the abductor was her husband. The woman said the couple is currently separated. The woman said she left the state of Texas with the children earlier today with intentions of moving to Alabama. The woman stated the children were 16 and 3 years old.”

Brooks said the woman pulled into the gas station to refuel her truck, and the children went inside of the store.

“She said minutes later, the children then exited the store and got into the husband’s vehicle,” he said. “The woman said the husband was driving a gray 2003 Toyota Camry.  The woman said the younger child was the husband’s biological child, but the other child was not. The woman told APD officers the male did not have parental rights to the other child. The woman also said she did not feel the children were in danger, but wanted the children back in her custody.”

The husband was identified as Jonson, who was later detained in Gulfport where he faces charges in Alabama for interference with child custody. The children were found safe and unharmed.