MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The man charged with kidnapping a Tennessee woman jogging near the University of Memphis last week spent 20 years behind bars for a previous kidnapping. According to an arrest affidavit, U.S. Marshals arrested 38-year-old Cleotha Abston on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Eliza Fletcher was last seen. While the 34-year-old woman has not been found, Memphis police say they believe she was seriously injured in the abduction, which was caught on surveillance video. The Commercial Appeal reports Abston previously kidnapped a prominent Memphis attorney in 2000, when Abston was 16 years old. He was convicted of kidnapping and robbery. Abston was released from prison in 2020.

AP
In this photo provided by the Memphis Police Department, 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher is shown. Authorities in Tennessee searched Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, for Fletcher, who police said was abducted and forced into a vehicle while she was jogging near the University of Memphis campus. (Courtesy of Memphis Police Department via AP)

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