New details emerge in North Las Vegas infant kidnapping case

KTNV

By: Alyssa Roberts

Roderick Duke, 40, was arrested in North Las Vegas after allegedly beating his daughter's mother, kidnapping his 10-month-old daughter, and threatening to kill the child and "commit suicide by cop," according to arrest documents obtained by Channel 13.
An AMBER Alert was issued Thursday morning, but arrest documents reveal Duke had already returned to his apartment with the baby before the alert went out. The baby was found unharmed, and Duke was taken into custody before 10:05 a.m.
Duke faces charges of first-degree kidnapping, child abuse or neglect, and domestic battery.

NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The man at the center of a North Las Vegas kidnapping investigation and AMBER Alert is accused of threatening to kill his 10-month-old daughter and "commit suicide by cop," according to arrest documents obtained by Channel 13.

Roderick Duke, 40, was previously identified by police as the suspect in the kidnapping of his 10-month-old daughter, Leilani Williams. An AMBER Alert was issued Thursday morning in the search for Duke and the baby, who police said were last seen at an apartment complex in the area of MLK Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue at approximately 1:40 a.m.

According to the timeline outlined in the North Las Vegas Police Department's arrest report, Duke had already brought the child back to his apartment at the time police issued an AMBER Alert.

911 call and initial search

The report states officers were dispatched after multiple people called 911 reporting a woman screaming for help. Police state they found the woman "in a state of panic," and she told them Duke had beaten her and taken their 10-month-old child. Duke had left with his and the woman's cell phones, police noted.

The woman used a neighbor's phone to call Duke, and the neighbor told police Duke was overheard saying "that if she contacted the police, [she] would 'see both of them...on the news,'" according to the report.

Police pinged Duke's phone, which led them to a friend who lived in the area of Las Vegas and Nellis boulevards. That friend told police he "told Roderick what he was doing wasn't right and he tried to convince him to take [the baby] back home," the report states.

The friend had ordered Duke an Uber to take him back to the the original apartment complex, police stated. In an interview with police, Duke's Uber driver described him as "extremely suspicious during his ride" and said he "was on the lookout for police."

Timeline revelations

Police learned that the Uber had delivered Duke to his apartment at 5:40 a.m., the report states, and Duke had gone inside and locked the door.

Officers state Duke's presence was unnoticed because the baby's mother had gotten her belongings out of the apartment and was sitting in an officer's patrol vehicle "due to fear of Roderick returning."

Based on the timeline outlined in the arrest report, Duke and the baby would have been inside their apartment at 7:57 a.m., when police issued a media release to raise awareness of their search, and at approximately 9 a.m., when the AMBER Alert was issued.

By 10:05 a.m. Thursday, police had shared that the baby had been found unharmed, and Duke was taken into custody.

WATCH | Channel 13 senior reporter Mary Kielar gets expert insight on the process that leads to an AMBER Alert:

Explaining the process that leads to an Amber Alert on your phone

Details from police interview

Duke was booked into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center for first-degree kidnapping, child abuse or neglect, and domestic battery.

In an interview with investigators, Duke claimed he saw police when he got back to his apartment "but thought to himself that he was good." He claimed he and the baby's mother had argued, and that he left the apartment to "cool off...because he does not hit women."

According to police, the baby's mother claimed Duke had hit her, grabbed her by the neck and pinned her against the wall in their bathroom. Officers documented the woman's physical injuries, including a contusion, an abrasion on her nose, and several abrasions on her neck.

Police determined there was enough evidence to arrest Duke and book him into jail. He is expected in court for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24.