Mom’s call lands her in cop’s cuffs

A three-day custody battle between a 27-year-old Raywood woman and the Houston father of her two sons ended Friday evening at a Beaumont Jack in the Box after she called police.

“It’s kind of interesting how it happened,” said Cpl. Hugh Bishop of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department.

It all started on Tuesday, when Keisha Victorian, 27, called Torris Lee in Houston and told him a case manager wanted to meet them at a home in Raywood, said Bishop.

The father had custody of their 4-year-old and 6-year-old sons.

The three arrived at the home of the children’s maternal grandmother and moments later Lee saw a black car drive off with the boys in the back seat, Bishop said.

For days, Victorian kept calling Lee, telling him the boys would be returned.

But finally she said they weren’t coming back, which led Lee to call police Friday to report them missing.

Because Victorian is named in a protective order out of Fort Bend County for past violence toward the children, an Amber Alert was issued in Houston and Liberty County, Bishop said.

Over in Liberty County, investigators brought the grandmother in for questioning, which prompted a call to her daughter in Beaumont.

Victorian took it at the fast food restaurant near Dowlen and Eastex about 6 p.m. Friday, Bishop said. Worried about her mother, she called Beaumont police to find out what was going on.

Unaware of the Amber Alert, Beaumont police called the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department for information and learned Victorian was a wanted woman.

Bishop said his department urged Beaumont dispatchers to stall the caller until local officers could arrive at the restaurant. He credits the dispatchers’ cooperation and the officers’ swift arrival with ending the saga.

The two boys were unharmed. Victorian was detained by police and later transferred to the Liberty County Jail.

Both women are expected to be arraigned Saturday.

Victorian could face charges for violating the protective order, interfering with child custody and possibly kidnapping, Bishop said.