Man Suspected of Kidnapping 8-year-old Girl in Fort Worth Indicted by Federal Grand Jury

A federal grand jury indicted the man suspected of snatching an 8-year-old girl who was walking last month with her mother in a Fort Worth neighborhood on a kidnapping charge Wednesday afternoon.Michael Webb, 51, had previously filed documents indicating that he intended to plead guilty to the charge Wednesday morning.When he appeared in front of Federal Magistrate Jeffrey Cureton Wednesday, however, he did not enter a plea.The federal grand jury determined that there was sufficient evidence to bring Webb to trial. He will have to enter a plea when he is arraigned before U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor on Monday."We are determined to hold the defendant accountable for his alleged crime. If he wants a trial - which is his right - we are prepared to prove the facts before a jury," U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in a written statement. "We'll do whatever it takes to bring this man to justice."If proven guilty, Webb will face at least 20 years in federal prison, and could be locked away for life.Webb also faces one count of aggravated kidnapping and six counts of sexual assault of a child in Tarrant County.He has been in FBI custody since May 19, when church members spotted the suspect vehicle at a Forest Hill hotel and Fort Worth police found the girl inside Webb's room.Forest Hill police had also searched the room and spoken to Webb after receiving a tip hours earlier, but said they did not find the girl.Fort Worth police issued an Amber Alert for the girl, but said it was not delivered to radio stations due to a problem with a fax machine.Webb has previously been convicted of several crimes in East Texas, including burglary, terroristic threat, drug possession, evading arrest and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.  Continue reading...