CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas — Chambers County deputies conducted a traffic stop Tuesday, Dec. 24, at 6 p.m. on two cars near Fisher road and highway 99 regarding a child custody dispute.
After speaking with the mother and father, police determined the mother, Trisha Plake, went into the father’s place of residence to take their 3-year-old child without consent, reports show.
Deputies tried to continue speaking with the mother about the situation, but police say Plake did not get out of her car.
Instead, Plake fled the scene on Fisher road. She drove around a patrol unit that was parked in front of her car with her 3-year-old child in the front passenger seat. The child was unrestrained and without a safety seat, according to authorities.
Deputies tried to catch Plake as she disregarded stop signs at the intersection of Fisher road and State Highway 99. Police say Plake later turned southbound on State Highway 99.
Since the child was unrestrained, deputies said they made a box-in maneuver as an attempt to bring the car to a “safe and controlled” stop.
The box-in method worked. Plake was taken into custody, and the child was safely returned to the father on scene, reports show. Police searched the car and found marijuana and multiple Alprazolam pills, which were not prescribed to Plake, according to the Sheriff’s news release.
Plake was booked into the Chamber’s County jail for the following offenses:
- Interference With Child Custody
- Burglary of a Residence
- Evading Arrest or Detention with a Motor Vehicle
- Abandon or Endanger Child
- Possession of Marijuana
- Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 3.
“I’m very proud of the Sheriff’s Deputies teamwork to safely return the child to his father. The Christmas holidays are very stressful times regarding child custody,” said Sheriff Hawthorne