The case against two people accused of trying to lure two young boys out of a Mobile convenience store is moving forward after a preliminary hearing sent the charges to a grand jury.
Douglas Jones faces two counts of enticing a child to enter. Tosha Slack, whom police testimony identified as Jones’s stepdaughter, is charged with two counts of enticing a child to enter and one count of sex abuse.
What Surveillance Video Shows
At Monday’s hearing, a Mobile police detective walked through surveillance footage from the convenience store on Three Notch Road. The detective testified the video shows Jones inside the store looking at the two boys at the checkout counter, then opening the front door and waving Slack in while pointing out the children. Police say Slack then approached the boys and offered them candy and ice cream to get into a car, and that she inappropriately touched one of them — though the detective acknowledged the video does not capture the alleged touching.
Defense Pushes Back
Jones’s attorney argued there is no physical evidence tying his client to the crime, disputing whether the video shows what prosecutors claim. Slack’s lawyer questioned whether surveillance footage alone meets the standard for probable cause.
Judge Spiro Cheriogotis ruled the evidence sufficient to move the case forward to the grand jury. The judge also reset bond: $30,000 for Slack and $20,000 for Jones, with both ordered to have no contact with any children under 16.