Grand jury to hear case against men accused of abducting boy

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. – A grand jury will hear a case against two Illinois men accused of luring a 14-year-old boy away from his Mississippi home through a video game-centred chat program.

DeSoto County prosecutor Luke Williamson tells news outlets that the men waived their preliminary hearing Tuesday and sent the case to a grand jury in exchange for bond reductions.

Thirty-year-old Juan E. Andrade and 29-year-old Jason St. Aubin face kidnapping and conspiracy charges after being accused of luring away John Aubrey Peal III using the popular Discord application earlier this month.

Peal was found at an Illinois fire station four days after he disappeared.

St. Aubin’s $600,000 bond was reduced to $500,000 on Tuesday, and Andrade’s $600,000 bond was halved.

It’s unclear when the DeSoto County grand jury will meet.