Released from jail, man with violent past choked Fort Worth woman and abducted baby: DA
A Florida man who a prosecutor said has a violent criminal history in five states was released on a $3,500 bond Thursday and headed straight to his ex-girlfriend’s Fort Worth home, where he was accused of choking her unconscious and abducting their baby.
Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson made a statement critical of the bond set by Tarrant County District Judge Chris Wolfe, which allowed the suspect to be released within 24 hours of being booked into jail on a previous domestic violence charge. Such statements by a district attorney are rare.
“Judges set bonds,” Wilson said in a Friday news release. “That is why judges have assessments and criminal histories available to them.”
Wolfe could not be reached Friday for comment.
“Judges and magistrates have access to risk assessments, lethality assessments, and criminal history when setting bonds,” the District Attorney’s Office said in the release. The suspect, Lancelot Dawkins, “has violent criminal histories — including various family violence related crimes — in five states.”
An Amber Alert was issued Friday morning for 11-month-old Harmony Rodriguez, who police found safe Friday afternoon in New Mexico. Her father was taken into custody there.
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said at a Friday news conference that Lancelot Dawkins went to his ex-girlfriend’s Fort Worth home and pretended to be a police officer.
Once she opened the door, Dawkins strangled her until she passed out, police said. He then is accused of grabbing the infant and driving away.
Just before the assault and abduction, Dawkins, 26, of Miami Beach, Florida, posted the $3,500 bond Thursday. He was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on Wednesday on a previous family violence charge that also involved strangling his ex-girlfriend, who is Harmony’s mother, in December, according to court records and the district attorney’s office.
Dawkins had previously posted a $3,500 bond in January on the charge of assaulting a family member by impeding breath or circulation. Tarrant County Magistrate Brooke Panuthos set that bond.
Panuthos could not be reached Friday for comment.
After his release in January, Dawkins apparently fled Texas and authorities believe he headed to Nevada. His bondsman filed paperwork on Jan. 28 saying Dawkins could not be contacted and asked that his bond be held insufficient. An arrest warrant was issued on Jan. 31.
Dawkins was booked into jail Wednesday on that warrant, and this time Wolfe, the 213th District Court judge, released him on bond of the same amount — $3,500 — within 24 hours, the District Attorney’s Office said.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 1:58 PM.
