SALISBURY, N.C. -- Salisbury police have found a 4-month-old child safe after he was abducted by his father Friday evening.
Jonathan Pierre Dillard, 24, was arrested in Salisbury at 3:30 p.m. Saturday without incident and faces domestic violence and child abduction charges. His girlfriend, Jennetta Walker, says the two argued Friday morning and he took their 4-month-old child Jaylen and left.
Jaylen was born premature at just 27 weeks. He was 1 pound, 12 ounces, and remained in the hospital until he was more than 3 months old. Today, he weighs just 7 pounds and takes medicines twice a day for acid reflux, elevated blood pressure, and other conditions.
"I pushed [Dillard] off of me. He pushed me down and he snatched the baby out of my arms," she told NewsChannel 36 in an exclusive interview Friday.
She said she went to a neighbor's home to call for help. "I was just going to get the baby and go, but when I got back he had left with the baby and I didn't know where he went."
Because Dillard is not listed on the child's birth certificate as his father, he does not have legal standing.
Walker says Dillard did not take any of Jaylen's medicines, which added to the urgency of finding the child.
Jaylen is being checked over at a local hospital, but appears to be in good health.
