Cash Gernon murder: Darriynn Brown tried to kidnap girl, 2, three months before Texas boy's death
Darriynn Ronnell Brown might have allegedly snatched 4-year-old Cash Gernon from his crib earlier this month shortly before the toddler was found dead. However, reports state that the 18-year-old accused who was arrested on May 16 had grabbed another young child only three months earlier. This comes after we previously reported that some of the neighbors might have caught up on Brown's suspicious behavior at least a month ago.
Additional charges of burglary of a habitation and injury to an elderly person have now been filed against Darriynn Ronnell Brown, jail records showed on Thursday, May 27, 2021. The new charges reportedly stem from an incident on February 8, 2021.
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What happened on February 8, 2021?
According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KTVT-TV (Channel 11), Brown broke into a home and scoured through several rooms and closets before the homeowner told him to leave. The owner had grabbed a knife. Brown, however, continued to damage a door between the home and the garage. The station reported that when the homeowner opened the door, Brown came back inside and punched the man in the head.
Brown then picked up the man’s sleeping 2-year-old granddaughter and started walking away. The affidavit says that the man managed to pull her away from Brown and set her on the couch before the 18-year-old punched him again.
Brown said 'sorry'
The homeowner initially didn’t want to press charges at the time. Apparently, when he encountered Brown at a store later that month, the teenager apologized for what happened, the homeowner told the police, KTVT reported. Brown approached him and apologized saying, "He was sorry for breaking into his house and trying to take his grandchild." But he then decided to press charges after Brown’s arrest in connection with 4-year-old Cash Gernon’s abduction. This was three days after Gernon's body was found by a jogger. In addition to kidnapping and theft, Brown is charged with injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual. Additionally, he faces a second burglary charge.
Antwainese Square, a jogger, found Cash’s body about 7 am on May 15, 2021, in the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive, in southwestern Dallas’ Mountain Creek area. Police say that he was not wearing a shirt or shoes, and he had multiple wounds from an "edged weapon". Brown, who lived nearby, was arrested later as suspect in the crime.
Footage from a surveillance camera in the home that was released later showed a man matching the description of Brown entering the room where the boy was sleeping with his twin brother about 5 am that day. He then stood over them before grabbing Cash and walking out of the room. The video then shows that the man return about two and a half hours later, lifting the blanket covering Cash’s twin, presumably to grab him too, but after a short while, left.
Monica Sherrod, the woman that Cash and his twin brother were living with, was the one who reported him missing shortly before 11 am. By then it was too late as the child's body had already been discovered. According to the court papers, Sherrod identified Brown as the person in the CCTV video footage. She said that while she knew him, he did not have permission to be inside her home.
Brown reportedly remains in custody, with total bail set at $1.625 million. His court-appointed attorney has not spoken publicly about the charges against him.