Dallas businesses and other members of the community have stepped up for a local couple who played a pivotal role in the arrest of a dangerous criminal but was denied the posted Crime Stoppers reward.
Kenyatta and Briana Jordan have received several cash donations and other tokens since news broke that they could not collect a $5,000 reward posted by Dallas Crime Stoppers for information leading to the arrest of a man on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Leonard Lamar Neal, 41, was wanted by police for allegedly kidnapping a 7-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
Police said Neal sexually assaulted the young girl, which struck a chord with the Jordans, who are parents to six children.
“That could have been our oldest two kids,” Briana told Fox 4 KDFW.
The couple spotted Neal on July 7 and followed him in their minivan once they saw him get on a bus.
Unaware of the reward or the stipulations required by Crime Stoppers to collect it, they dialed 911.
As reported in The Dallas Express, Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of wanted fugitives like Neal, but the informant must contact the organization in one of three ways.
Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS.
Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about and then clicking on the link under their picture.
Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).
Dallas Crime Stoppers is run by the North Texas Crime Commission (NTCC), which could not by law give the reward to the Jordans.
This is because Crime Stoppers is based in New Mexico, where state law requires that tips are given to the organization anonymously for the protection of its informants.
“You put people in harm’s way. Bad guys know where they live. They’ve brought forward something that might put them in jeopardy, et cetera, et cetera. So it’s always the tenet of Crime Stoppers,” NTCC Chairman David Dean told Fox 4.
Yet the Jordans’ ineligibility for the reward did result in some controversy, as covered in The Dallas Express.
Dallas Mayor Pro Tempore Tennell Atkins plans to address the issue through an awareness campaign aimed at educating the public on how Crime Stoppers works.
“I think that is courage. I think that is community. I think that is what the city of Dallas needs,” Atkins said of the Jordans’ actions, according to Fox 4.
While NTCC will honor the Jordans in a ceremony next month, members of the Dallas community pitched in to present the couple with a monetary reward.
Riddell Plumbing, Complete Fire Protection, CC Carpet, and Texas First Responders came together to provide them with a $5,000 check.
“Somebody has to step up to take care of this family,” said Cameron Morrison of Complete Fire Protection, according to WFAA.
Tony Woods, who owns Wingfield’s Burgers, also made a donation to the Jordans and hopes more people will do the same.
“Let’s step up. Let’s step forward and make sure this is a year-long celebration of this family,” Woods told Fox 4.
The celebration is off to a good start, with an anonymous patron donating $5,000 to NTCC for the couple, local resident Cliff Freeman and his wife writing them a check for $5,000, and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation offering them free park passes.
“We appreciate it. I’m not ashamed to say that the donations and everything, it is needed. It was needed,” Kenyatta told Fox 4.