AZEAL "Azzie" DeGRUY - 2 yo - Tacoma WA

Tacoma police were searching late Friday for a 2-year-old boy
reportedly abducted by a relative with unspecified mental health issues
and a history of drug abuse.
Azeal “Azzie” DeGruy was abducted
about 4:30 p.m. Friday from his father’s home in the 1300 block of East
62nd Street on Tacoma’s East Side.“We’re very concerned,” said
detective Gretchen Aguirre, a police spokeswoman. “We’re looking for
the child, we’re looking for the man.”The suspect is Omari
Lateef DeGruy, 25, the boy’s uncle. He was last seen driving away from
the home in a gray car, described as an older Oldsmobile. Police do not
have a license plate for the vehicle. Lack of clearer information
prevented immediate release of an Amber Alert, Aguirre said.
Ashani DeGruy, the boy’s father, said the abduction was unexpected. There was no argument beforehand, he said. His
fiancée and stepdaughter were in the house along with Azzie and his
uncle. Ashani DeGruy said he went to take a shower. He heard Omari step
into the bathroom and say something unintelligible. When Ashani stepped out of the shower, his brother and Azzie were gone.He
said Omari DeGruy is homeless but stays at the house from time to time.
Ashani DeGruy provides him with food and a place to sleep when
necessary. He added that his brother did not own a car – the gray
vehicle mentioned by police was unknown to him. He said his brother had
just gotten paid “a couple of hundred bucks.”“He’s an unstable
guy,” Ashani DeGruy said of his brother. “He has no idea how to take
care of a child. I don’t know why he would do this to me.”A witness – a neighbor who would not give her name – said she saw the abduction. “I seen him take the baby and put the baby in the car and drive off,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t his baby.”Omari
DeGruy was last seen wearing a worn brown leather jacket and gray
shorts. He is thin, about 5 feet 11. He is carrying Oregon
identification with an address in Portland. Police said he should be
considered dangerous and a flight risk.Police are asking anyone with information to call 253-830-6562.

The search is on for a 2-year-old boy who was abducted by his uncle on Friday.

Det. Ken Diehmann said Azeal DeGruy was taken from his East Tacoma home
around 4:30 p.m. A neighbor saw the boy's uncle, 24-year-old Omari
DeGruy, take off with him in a older gray Oldsmobile sedan,
investigators said.

Family members have no idea why the man would take his nephew, detectives said, but they fear he may have been using PCP.

"I have no idea. It just came from nowhere," said the boy's father Ashani DeGruy.

The boy's father said his brother is homeless, but spent Thursday night at
his home. The two got into a small argument on Friday afternoon, after
which his brother disappeared with his son.

"I just got out of the shower and he was gone," he said. "I'm running around in the
neighborhood in my towel, looking for him. And a neighbor says that she
saw him drive away. I've never known him to own a vehicle, so I don't
understand where he got a vehicle from."

Omari DeGruy was last seen driving near 1300 East 62nd Street. Investigators do not know
where the two may be headed, but said the uncle does has a valid Oregon
ID and a prior address in Portland, Oregon.

Omari DeGruy stands 5 feet 11 inches and has a thin build. He was last seen wearing
a worn brown leather jacket and gray shorts. Police said the man has a
history of mental illness, and should be considered dangerous.

"And we're really concerned because of the fact that he has mental health
issues - very severe mental health issues - drug use. And there's a
possibility he might leave the state," said police spokesperson
Gretchen Aguirre.

"I wouldn't approach him because, I mean, he's unstable. He's unstable, so call police as soon as you can," said Ashani DeGruy.

Azeal DeGruy was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and blue shoes when he was
taken, police said. His father said the boy is social and talkative.

Anyone with information on the pair's whereabouts is urged to call 911
immediately. Police can also be reached at (253) 830-6562. Callers
should refer to TPD case number 092681004.

"I can't stress enough (that) the mental health issues are our biggest concern right
now. We're not sure what his intention is," said Aguirre.

Police said they have not issued an Amber Alert because they only have a vague description of the vehicle.

Tacoma police are searching for a toddler who has been abducted by his uncle. A police spokesperson says Azeal M. Degruy was kidnapped around 4:30 p.m. when his uncle, Omari Lateef Degruy, took him from a fourplex at
815 East 64th Street. Ashani Degruy says Omari took his son, possibly after a short argument.
"I was
getting out of the shower. He poked his head in, said a few words, next
thing I know, I go out and I can't find my son. I'm running around the
neighborhood in my towel looking for him and the neighbor says she saw
him drive away," said Ashani. Omari had been smoking Sherm or PCP all day, say police. Azeal will turn 2-years-old on October 8. He is black and was wearing a
white shirt, blue jeans and blue shoes. Omari Degruy, 24,
is black, 6-feet tall with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a
worn brown leather jacket and gray shorts. He has a valid Oregon ID
that lists his home as Portland, but police say he also has ties to
Seattle.
"He has
severe mental health issues, a criminal background and also there's
concern about drug use," said Gretchen Aguirre, Tacoma Police
Department. "I don't know why he would do this to me, I'm
the only one in the family that really helps him, supports him. There's
no real motive to do something like this to me. I'm totally confused,"
said Ashani. The two are believed to be in a gray 4-door
Oldsmobile, but no license plate number was immediately available. They
were last seen driving away from the area of 1300 East 62nd street. Tacoma police say, without a license number, they cannot elevate this to an AMBER Alert. Omari's mother, Yamile DeGruy, lives in Portland and is making a plea to her son. "Get some help. Give my grandson back. Get some help or you will be put
away forever because God will find you and he will put you away. I love
you and I don't want you put away for life," said Yamile. Anyone
with information is asked to call 911 and or (253) 830-6562. Refer to
Tacoma Police Department case number 092681004

A missing 23-month-old boy was found Saturday morning less than a
mile from his home after a person noticed him and his suspected
abductor near an East Side Kmart.Azeal DeGruy was in his
parents’ arms just a few hours later in an emotional reunion at Tacoma
Police Headquarters. The boy was dehydrated and hungry, but otherwise
healthy, his mother said.“This couldn’t have ended up any
better,” said his father, Ashani DeGruy, as the boy buried his face in
his father’s neck. Tacoma police spokesman Ken Viehmann said Omari
Lateef DeGruy – the boy’s uncle and the suspect in the Friday night
abduction – was arrested 72nd Street and Portland Avenue in Tacoma,
near the Kmart.Viehmann said a citizen reported a black man with
a small child behind the store at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Police arrested
the suspect at 10:50 a.m.
“One officer gave the boy something to eat, and he seemed content and happy,” Viehmann said.DeGruy,
25, is suspected of abducting the child Friday night. He has
unspecified mental health issues and a history of drug abuse. His
family on Saturday described him as charming but with wild mood swings
and occasional paranoia. The boy’s mother, Eddena Brown, 31,
said the family couldn’t believe the abduction was taking place. “We
just watched it happen. We didn’t know it was happening,” she said. “We
just thought they were going outside to play.”Brown said Omari DeGruy loved the boy, which is why a voicemail DeGruy left shortly after the abduction was so puzzling.“He
said Azeal was the only thing worth protecting,” Brown said. “That he
has to be ready for the world as it is.” Brown said in the flood of
phone calls and text messages after the abduction, she missed the call
from her son’s uncle around 5:30 p.m. Friday. Azeal’s 9-year-old
sister, Lashayla Early, said she cried every time she saw her brother’s
picture on the news.Azeal and Omari DeGruy were last seen
leaving the home in a gray car, described as an older Oldsmobile. The
car where police found the suspect and the boy was a dark gray
late-model Oldsmobile.Police believe they might have spent the night in the car. The boy turns 2 in October.DeGruy
faces kidnapping charges, as well as any that might stem from what
detectives learn about the Oldsmobile, Viehmann said. Police aren’t
clear where the car came from, but they were awaiting a search warrant
Saturday afternoon before going through it. Viehmann said DeGruy did not have any drugs with him when he was arrested.His brother said he wasn’t sure what to feel about punishment for taking the boy.“I
feel betrayed more than anything else,” Ashani DeGruy said. “I keep
going back and forth” on whether he should be punished or not, given
his mental health issues.“I’m all mixed up right now,” he said.