Mother, accomplice, charged with taking her child from father

A Coon Rapids woman and her accomplice from St. Paul have been charged with one count each of first-degree burglary for abducting the woman’s child from the child’s custodial father’s home, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Serenity Jones, 28, has also been charged with felony deprivation of parental rights. Jones and her accomplice, 58-year-old Dennis Brann, are scheduled to make their first court appearance Tuesday.

According to the complaint, police responded to a call from Jones’ former partner on Oct. 23, saying that his five-year-old daughter had been taken by Jones and Brann.

Jones and Brann entered the house after forcibly opening the front door. Jones then grabbed her daughter and left the house while Brann stood in the front doorway, the complaint states.

In March, a Hennepin County District Court judge gave sole legal and physical custody of the girl to her father, with visitation for Jones on the weekends. However, on the weekend of Oct. 19 and 20, Jones refused to return her daughter to the father so he had to call Coon Rapids police to get his daughter back, the complaint continues.

After the Oct. 23 burglary, police obtained a court order to access location data for Brann’s phone and were able to find him, Jones and the five-year-old girl at a residence on Pillsbury Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Both Jones and Brann are currently in custody.

Jones Criminal Complaint (PDF)

Brann Criminal Complaint (PDF)