Background: News footage of Roderick Duke during his first court appearance on March 10 (KVVU). Inset: Leilani Williams (State of Nevada AMBER Alert).
A Nevada man has been apprehended after an Amber Alert went out for his baby daughter, who was found safe.
Roderick Duke, 39, was arrested by officers from the North Las Vegas Police Department on March 12, a week after an Amber Alert was issued for his 10-month-old daughter Leilani Williams. The department said in a Facebook post before Leilani was found that Duke was in the midst of an “emotional crisis” and had made threats to harm himself and his daughter.
According to a police report obtained by local ABC affiliate KTNV, Duke told Leilani”s mother that if she contacted police, he would “see both of them… on the news.”
Police said the threat was made over the phone after Leilani’s mother rushed out of Duke’s apartment “in a state of panic” around 1:40 a.m. on March 5. Several witnesses saw her and called 911 when she told them Duke had assaulted her before taking Leilani. Duke also allegedly took the woman’s phone. According to the police report, Leilani’s mother had abrasions and contusions, including on her neck. She told police that Duke had hit her and thrown her against the wall.
After a neighbor let Leilani’s mother use their phone, she called Duke. The neighbor allegedly overheard Duke make the threat about seeing them “on the news.”
According to reporting on the arrest report by local CBS affiliate KSNV, Duke allegedly “threatened to kill his 10-month-old and commit suicide by cop.”
The police were able to get in touch with a friend of Duke’s, who was able to contact Duke and tell him that “what he was doing wasn’t right.” The friend encouraged Duke to bring Leilani back. He ordered an Uber to bring father and daughter back to Duke’s apartment, and they arrived there at 5:40 a.m.
Duke and Leilani were still in his apartment when the Amber Alert was issued around 9 a.m., and police tracked them there. Police announced that Leilani was found unharmed and her father was taken into custody around 10 a.m.
When police interviewed Duke, he denied hitting Leilani’s mother because “he does not hit women.” He did admit that they got into an argument, but he left in the middle of it to “cool off.” According to the report, he said he brought Leilani to a friend’s house.
Duke made his first court appearance on March 10 and was charged with kidnapping, child abuse or neglect, and domestic battery. He is currently in custody at the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center. His next court date is scheduled for March 24.
