Crime & Safety
Suspect In Maleah Davis Case Charged with Evidence Tampering
Darion Vence, who s a person of interest in the disappearance of 4-year-old Maleah Davis, is charged with evidence tampering, police said.
HOUSTON — Houston Police have arrested 26-year-old Darion Vence and charged him with tampering with evidence, officials said.
Vence, who is a person of interest in the disappearance of 4-year-old Maleah Davis, was arrested by investigators with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitives Task Force, officials confirmed.
Vence was reportedly taken into custody in a Sugar Land neighborhood on Saturday afternoon by police.
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He made his first court appearance Saturday night, with a judge setting his bond at $999,999.
According to reports, the charges of evidence tampering are related to tampering with a corpse, KTRK reported.
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Officials with Texas EquuSearch, volunteers and local law enforcement officials have been searching for Maleah Davis since May 4, when an Amber Alert was issued for the missing child.
However, he has not spoken with police since his initial interview at Sugar Land Methodist Hospital when he was treated for injuries from his alleged kidnapping, officials said Thursday.
Vence, who was in a relationship with Maleah's mother, Brittany Bowens, was allegedly seen on video surveillance at the apartment complex carrying a laundry basket with a plastic trash bag and a bottle of bleach.
Police said they found blood evidence inside the apartment linked to Maleah.
READ ALSO: Maleah Davis' Mother Accuses Boyfriend Of Abusing Missing Girl
Vence claimed he was assaulted and kidnapped by three Hispanic men on May 3, while on the way to Bush Intercontinental Airport. Vence allegedly told police that he woke up on the side of State Highway 6 near First Colony Mall with his 2-year-old son, but that Maleah and the silver Nissan Altima were missing.
Police recovered the apparent stolen car in a parking lot in Missouri City on Thursday. On Friday, Bowens along with community activist Quanell X, claimed Vence abused Maleah in the past, and that Bowens withheld that information from police during the search for her daughter.
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