Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Man Sought in Baby’s Kidnap, Death Captured in Georgia

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday announced the capture in Georgia of a 25-year-old suspect in the death of a 7-month-old girl who was kidnaped and killed during a police chase in Lancaster.

Federal investigators arrested Cephus Earl Sudduth in Savannah on Tuesday for his alleged role in the killing of Jainah Alexis Spencer, who was fatally injured in a fiery crash in February after being taken “as collateral” by a group of six armed robbers seeking money from her father, authorities said.

Sudduth was taken into custody on an arrest warrant issued in Los Angeles County, charging him with two counts of kidnaping and four counts of robbery, deputies said. He was being held in Georgia, awaiting extradition to Los Angeles.

Jainah and her father, Robert Davis, were abducted Feb. 21, from an Inglewood apartment. Davis, who was beaten by the kidnapers, suggested he could get money at his mother’s house in Lancaster.

When they arrived, Davis’ sister slipped away and notified sheriff’s deputies, who appeared three minutes later. But the deputies were spotted by the captors, four of whom escaped in a car with the baby, pursued by deputies.

The pursuit ended when the alleged kidnapers’ car hit a ditch and spun out of control, smashing into a tree and catching fire. Jainah was rushed to a nearby hospital where she later died.

Four suspects arrested after the crash have been charged with murder, robbery and kidnaping. A sixth suspect, Ronald Cains, 22, remains at large.