Blue city mayor nearly kidnapped before claiming city is getting safer: police
Just one day after Mayor Paul Young of Memphis touted declining crime in the city a man was arrested for allegedly stalking and attempting to kidnap him Trenton Abston was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempted kidnapping stalking and aggravated criminal trespass against Young according to the Memphis Police Department MPD Police reported in an announcement on Facebook that population and private safety camera footage revealed Abston scaling the wall to the mayor's neighborhood and walking to Young's home He was arrested with a TASER gloves rope and duct tape in his van Thanks to a rapid response by MPD officers as well as precaution camera footage Abston was speedily apprehended the department disclosed BUSINESS OWNERS BLAST WEAKENED LEADERSHIP AS BLUE CITY RANKS AMONG MAJORITY OF DANGEROUS IN US We understand the concerns raised by this situation and want to reassure the society that the Memphis Police Department remains fully committed to the safety of all residents including our city s elected authorities the police department noted We take any prospective threat seriously and will continue to act swiftly and thoroughly According to Shelby County Tennessee jail records Abston remains behind bars as of Friday and his bond has not yet been assessed It is unclear whether he has an attorney and the Shelby County society defender's office could not be reached for comment The suspect was arrested just one day after Young took to X to defend the city after comments made by sports analyst Stephen A Smith who stated NBA players don't want to play in Memphis due to safety concerns MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL RESTAURANT SHUTTING DOWN OVER CRIME OWNER BLAMES REPRESENTATIVES FOR 'OUT OF CONTROL' VIOLENCE The people in Memphis it s a great sports town great fans great people but there s an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don t feel like it s the safest climate Smith mentioned on Tuesday's edition of First Take on ESPN I m talking to the local administration in Memphis You ve got to clean selected of that stuff up because it s dissuasive to NBA players They have talked about it I know They ve reported me That s all I m saying The comment sparked backlash from Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and from Young talkin bout the grizz more than the finals chuckling emoji wit these cap emoji ahh sources Morant posted on X instead of focusing on the performances we seen from jdub shai tj Siakam how this series is going We say sumn negative about a city group on a national level Young also weighed in on X Stephen called us a great sports town - facts he noted Best fans in sports True People of Memphis Unmatched But what he is missing is that crime is down significantly in and We're not just talking change we're delivering it Memphis is rising and we've got the numbers and the heart to prove it He also thanked Memphians and Morant for standing up for the city and invited Smith to come to Memphis where he is welcome anytime Young's office and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office did not right now return comment requests MPD mentioned the safety footage was not available for release Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this account
