A Starkville man accused of attempted kidnapping, who sparked a manhunt on Friday, received an additional charge of attempted kidnapping on Monday.
John B. Arnold, Jr., 45, is accused of removing his court-mandated ankle monitor near Carver Drive, then trying to take a student at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School from the school on Friday, Feb. 23, without the permission of the child’s mother or father, according to court documents provided to the Starkville Daily News through a public records request.
Arnold is not related to the child he attempted to take from the school, but it is unclear what his connection to the child is.
The Starkville Police Department said in a press release on Monday that Arnold was given an additional charge of attempted kidnapping for the incident on Friday. Bond for the additional charge was set at $10 million.
However, Arnold remains in the Oktibbeha County Jail after bond from his initial attempted kidnapping charge was revoked after he violated the terms set by a municipal judge.
Arnold was also charged with two counts of contempt of court, with bond set at $1,000 for each count.
Arnold prompted a large police manhunt in Starkville on Friday when he violated the terms of his bond by forcibly removing his ankle monitor. He was apprehended by police a couple of hours later after being spotted by Oktibbeha County deputies on Greenfield Street near Sudduth Elementary.
He was then arrested without incident and taken to the Oktibbeha County Jail.
Arnold was first charged with attempted kidnapping earlier this month, after he tried to check out a first grade student at Sudduth Elementary without the guardian’s permission.
Investigators previously said Arnold has a history of violent offenses, which includes charges of assault, disorderly conduct, possession of a firearm by a felon and second degree battery in Louisiana.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Arnold on March 21 at 2 p.m.
Those convicted of attempted kidnapping in Mississippi face a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum sentence of life, according to Mississippi Code 97-3-53.