Ibrahim Yazeed, second left, appears in court for a hearing on the disappearance of college student Aniah Blanchard, on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 in Opelika, Ala. Yazeed is charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris. A judge ordered Yazeed to submit a DNA sample as requested by prosecutors. (AHannah Lester/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, Pool)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A man held in the abduction and slaying of an Alabama college student isn’t fighting for bond in a separate kidnapping case, his attorney said Thursday.
News outlets reported that Ibraheem Yazeed, 29, appeared in Montgomery County court on kidnapping, attempted murder and robbery charges linked to an incident in February. Defense attorney Preston Presley did not oppose a judge’s decision to revoke his bond.
Yazeed, who wore shackles and a protective vest during a hearing, acknowledged he understood what his lawyer was doing during the appearance.
Yazeed is charged separately in Lee County with capital murder in the abduction and killing of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, the daughter of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris.
Yazeed is being held without bond in Blanchard’s death. His lawyer said Yazeed could reverse himself and seek bond in the earlier case if charges are dropped in Blanchard’s killing.
Blanchard disappeared from Auburn in October, and her remains were found in a rural area of east Alabama. Yazeed was free on $295,000 bond at the time of her disappearance, which occurred nine months after he was arrested in the beating of two men at a hotel in Montgomery. One of the men was taken from the scene and later found unconscious in a car with Yazeed and others.
One of the men was nearly beaten to death, court records showed. But Yazeed hasn’t been convicted of any violent crimes in Alabama, his attorneys said in court documents.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Yazeed has arrests on charges including robbery, attempted murder, drug possession and assault on a police officer dating back to 2011, but none resulted in a lengthy prison sentence.
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