MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An attempted kidnapping suspect’s mental stability will be put on trail before the case can continue.
“He can’t even tell you what he is down here for. He don’t even understand that,” said Tavius Woods’ mother Terry Curry. “Tavius is Autistic and has Down Syndrome. Right now, he’s not understanding the process.”
Curry stood outside of court where her son was expected to make an appearance Tuesday.
He’s accued of trying to kidnap a little girl, not once but twice, from Germanshire Elementary last month.
His court appearance was pushed back.
In the meantime, he will see a court-order psychologist who will determine whether Woods was sane when he committed the alleged crime or if he’s competent to stand trial.
“It’s hard to help him say you can’t do this or you can’t do that when he don`t know what it is he can’t do. That’s hard,” said Curry. “If society is going to constantly lie on him and treat him like Shrek because of the way he looks, it’s not fair. It’s really not.”
The mother of the little girl he’s accused of kidnapping told WREG Woods also tried to kidnap and sexually assault her older daughter in 2013.
SHe said he was arrested, but said a judge ruled Woods incompetent to stand trail, and dismissed then expunged the charges.
Curry said her son then landed a job with children.
“He was at the bus boy cleaning up at Service Master. Tavius has worked at a lot of schools. He`s never had problems with children,” she said. “That’s hard to say you can’t be around children when you live with children. That’s hard to do.”
WREG reached out to Service Master four times and also sent numerous emails to SCS officials asking about those schools Curry is referring to, but have yet to hear back.
We also asked about the hiring process and timeline.
The dsitrict did admit Woods worked in the cafeteria at Oakshire Elementary for two months in 2016, but claim he hasn’t worked in the district since.
“What he needs is not jail. It`s treatment,” said Woods’ attorney Blake Ballin. “The first goal is to see if we can get him evaluated. Then to get him out and make sure he is being taken care of and his mental health issues are being address.”
Ballin said a court-ordered mental evaluation should indicate that.
“He was very tearful when I talked to him in court. He is not happy where he is. He wants out,” he said. “Unfortunately, he needs treatment not punishment. He’s in jail on a $75,000 bond that his family can’t make.”
Woods is set to be back in court May 21 to find out what the court-ordered pschologist recommends.
