The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A woman and her wife allegedly abducted her biological children in Missouri and took them to Arizona without permission.
Brittany Barnes is married to Ceairah Beverly. Barnes has three biological sons, ages 8, 9, and 10, of whom she does not have custody. According to reports, she lost custody of the children at the beginning of the year due to a few legal issues that she is currently dealing with.
On the morning of March 23, Barnes showed up at the Springfield, Missouri home of her children’s paternal grandmother, who currently has physical custody of the boys. Barnes retrieved her sons for an unsupervised visit.
The family members got worried when an extended period passed without any contact from Barnes or the children.
The Springfield Police Department was notified and informed about the situation. In addition to starting an investigation, they decided to activate an Endangered Person Advisory based on the presumption that the kids had been abducted.
The investigation led the authorities to believe that the children were taken out of Missouri. They purported that they were in Arizona in the area where their paternal grandmother lives.
U.S. Marshals believed that they saw the vehicle Barnes was driving parked at the Casino Del Sol in Tuscon. Local police helped them to identify Barnes and Beverly.
On May 13, nearly three weeks after the situation was reported, Barnes and Beverly were both placed under arrest by U.S. Marshals, and they were each booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center. Charges for suspicion of interference with custody or removal from the state are pending. They are both waiting to be extradited.
The children were temporarily placed in the custody of the Arizona Department of Child Safety. They will be returned to their custodial grandmother’s home.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a criminal offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.