Elton Stephens Jr
Elton Bryson Stephens Jr (born July 1945) was the chairman and CEO of EBSCO Industries, and the developer of Mt Laurel.
Stephens was the son of Elton Stephens Sr and the former Alys Varian Robinson.
Early in the morning on September 11, 2020 Stephens was abducted from his home on Crest Road and held captive at a trailer in Remlap. He was returned home after wiring $250,000 into a bank account. Soon after the incident was reported to the Birmingham Police Department two suspects, Matthew Amos Burke and Tabatha Nicole Hodges were arrested and charged with burglary, kidnapping, extortion and theft. Federal prosecutors have also charged the pair for kidnapping and bank fraud. Both defendants pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court judge Abdul Kallon. Burke was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison and Hodges was given 12.
References
- Robinson, Carol (September 17, 2020) "Birmingham businessman Elton B. Stephens Jr. kidnapped, released after paying hefty ransom." The Birmingham News
- Robinson, Carol (October 27, 2020) "Sleep app recorded Birmingham businessman Elton B. Stephens Jr.'s abduction, police testify." The Birmingham News
- Robinson, Carol (August 13, 2021) "Kidnapper of Birmingham businessman Elton B. Stephens Jr. pleads guilty, likely to get 17 years in prison." The Birmingham News
- Robinson, Carol (December 9, 2021) "Kidnapper of Birmingham businessman Elton B. Stephens Jr. gets 12 years in federal prison." The Birmingham News
- Gaines, Charles (April 2023) "An Alabama Kidnapping That’s Stranger Than Fiction" Garden and Gun