CHESTERFIELD, Va. — Tykirah Reid was denied bail in Chesterfield County Court on Friday, less than 24 hours after police said she abducted a 3-month-old baby from Newport News and drove him to Chesterfield.
Reid, 20, is being held in Chesterfield County Jail. She denied a request for an interview with 13News Now on Friday.
Reid is charged with abduction, child neglect, obstruction of justice, petit larceny, and changing a vehicle’s ID number - all in Chesterfield County.
Newport News Police say she will also face an abduction charge in Newport News, and additional charges are pending.
Reid’s mother and sister said the charges are a “misunderstanding,” but wouldn’t answer how the charges are a misunderstanding.
Reid’s sister told 13News Now that Reid loves children and would never hurt anyone, saying she has many questions about what happened She turned down an on-camera interview Friday.
Chesterfield County Police found Reid and 3-month-old Jiraiya Cherry in an apartment complex near Richmond on Thursday night. They arrested Reid after she left an apartment with Cherry in her arms.
“It was right there, right there, so it’s just crazy,” said a neighbor, Maria.
Maria said she saw police investigating an apartment down the street and later found out it was connected to the AMBER Alert she had just received on her phone.
“We need to be more vigilant and serious about when stuff like that happens, you know. I shouldn’t have looked at my phone and been like, 'Oh, it’s an AMBER Alert,'” she said “I need to be better about yes it’s an AMBER alert but that’s a child missing.”
Reid did not talk during her court hearing Friday. She was appointed a public defender.
Maria said she’s worried about the baby's family.
“I’m glad they got the justice they deserve for their baby and I hope this traumatic experience can be put behind them,” she said.
Newport News Police and prosecutors said Reid should be extradited back to Newport News at some point.