Watch an earlier report on Kason Thomas in the player above.
INDIANAPOLIS (WCMH) – Nalah Jackson, the woman accused of stealing a running car with infant twins inside and setting off a multiday Amber Alert in Ohio just before Christmas, appeared Tuesday in court.
Jackson, 24, is expected to face charges related to kidnapping the two 5-month-olds after jumping in the car while the twins’ mother was picking up a delivery order at a Short North pizza store, but her appearance in Marion Superior Court was related to a different charge, allegedly spitting on a deputy while being processed.
At the initial hearing on a felony charge of battery by bodily waste, Jackson was advised of her rights, appointed indigent counsel at the county’s expense and scheduled for a bail review hearing on Tuesday morning.
On Dec. 19, the mother of Kyair and Kason Thomas left her car running as she picked up a delivery order. Police and witnesses say that Jackson, known as a homeless person to the store employees, ran out and drove away in the car about 9:45 p.m. The Amber Alert was issued nearly four hours later, with Kyair located outside and wrapped in a quilt while still in his car seat at a parking lot near a Dayton airport early the next morning.
The search for the car, Jackson and Kason continued for days until police announced Friday afternoon that Jackson had been arrested in Indianapolis, some 175 miles away from Columbus. Hours later, Kason was located still inside the missing car, which had been left in a pizza store parking lot elsewhere in Indianapolis.
Kason was reunited with his family after a three-day stay at an Indianapolis hospital.
It remains unclear when Jackson might be returned to Ohio, where she could potentially face federal charges.
