A Cherokee County mother was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly handcuffed her 11-year-old son, kidnapped him at knifepoint and tried to leave the state with him.

Police in Grantville spotted Alicia Omana’s vehicle on I-85 north of LaGrange. The boy was found inside the vehicle with visible injuries to his arms, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s deputies were tipped to the alleged kidnapping around 5 p.m. Tuesday. The child’s father said the 11-year-old was communicating with him by phone after Omana, 34, took him from their home on Jasmine Court in Woodstock.

“The father arrived at the house and explained that he had been in contact with both the son and the wife and was unable to convince her to return home,” sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said Wednesday in a news release. “He felt she was fleeing to Louisiana where she had family.”

Her husband was able to track Omana’s progress through a cellphone in her vehicle, Baker said. That helped deputies coordinate with law enforcement agencies south of Atlanta and ultimately led to Omana’s capture.

She was arrested on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, first-degree cruelty to children and battery, all related to family violence. She also faces a charge of obstructing a 911 call.

Omana was denied bond Friday, according to WSB radio. She remains in the Cherokee County jail.

In other news: 

A woman who lives in the home said she was at work during the burglary.

About the Author

Featured

8/26/17 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia leaders, including Gov. Nathan Deal, Sandra Deal, members of the King family, and Rep. Calvin Smyre,  were on hand for unveiling of the first statue of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the statehouse grounds, more than three years after Gov. Nathan Deal first announced the project.  During the hour-long ceremony leading to the unveiling of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the state Capitol on Monday, many speakers, including Gov. Nathan Deal, spoke of King's biography. The statue was unveiled on the anniversary of King's famed "I Have Dream" speech. BOB ANDRES  /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres