(Fort Worth, TX) – An Amber Alert Friday morning regarding a child abduction in Fort Worth involved a man who had just been released by a judge on bond from jail in Tarrant County.
Lancelot Dawkins, who is believed to have taken his 11-month-old daughter after choking her mother, was released from Tarrant County Jail Thursday, February 24, after posting a $3,500 bond.
This came after Dawkins, 26, bonded out from jail in January, on a charge of assaulting a family member by impeding breath or circulation. Tarrant County Magistrate Brooke Panuthos set that bond at $3,500.
After he was released from jail in January, Dawkins apparently fled Texas, believed to be headed to Nevada. His bondsman filed paperwork January 28 saying Dawkins could not be contacted and asked that his bond be held insufficient. An arrest warrant was issued January 31, 2022.
Dawkins was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on Wednesday and a judge released him again from jail within 24 hours. District Court Judge Chris Wolfe set his bond at the same amount it was in January before the warrant, at $3,500.
Judges and magistrates have access to risk assessments, lethality assessments, and criminal history when setting bonds. Dawkins has violent criminal histories – including various family violence related crimes – in five states.
“Judges set bonds,” Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson said. “That is why judges have assessments and criminal histories available to them.”
Dawkins, after being released from jail, was believed to have gone straight to the home of his ex-girlfriend and daughter, where he strangled his ex-girlfriend and kidnapped their daughter.
Police are still looking for the baby, Harmony Rodriguez, who is Black and has black hair and brown eyes. She weighs about 30 pounds and was last seen wearing a brown and yellow onesie.
Police believe Harmony may be in danger. Dawkins was last seen driving a white Jeep Wrangler.
Anyone with information about Lancelot Dawkins should contact the Fort Worth Police Department at 817-392-4222.