Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts

Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts

By Joseph Budd

Native Sun News Today Staff Writer

 

Imagine just having a baby, then having your child turn up missing. For young mother Lassandra Hoof, from Pine Ridge, this scene played out earlier this year when two-day old baby was taken by the father without consent, who then left the reservation. Lassandra quickly reported the event to authorities, filed for emergency child custody and temporary emergency placement of the baby, which the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court granted her on May 2. On May 24, the court granted her permanent guardianship over her baby, named Joann.

However, her baby is still missing, and is listed as missing on the Attorney General’s missing persons list. Likewise, Hoof  hasn’t had much luck getting help from the OST Police Department. The department provided the missing person information to the South Dakota Attorney General’s office, and are listed as the agency in charge of the case, according to Chief of Staff Tim Bormann.

According to Hoof, she was told until custody was established, law enforcement could do nothing. The FBI also could not confirm if they are looking into the case.

Barajas, who is listed as the father of the child, has had his name and vehicle listed in the National Crime Information Center database, but there aren”t any charges listed. To that end, Tribal law enforcement aren’t able to arrest a non-native person who isn’t on the reservation, and Hoof believes that Barajas took the baby out of state.

A noted Rapid City lawyer, Kyle Krause, shed some light on this, stating, “It’s basically a free-for-all until somebody gets a court order. He can grab the kid and run wherever he wants, at least within the country, and hasn’t violated any laws.”

Krause did mention that states are required to honor tribal court rulings under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. To have this Act help Hoof, she would need to file a motion or petition to have that recognized in state court.

As it stands, Hoof and Barajas are still married, but the relationship was short-lived. As Barajas lived out of state, she didn’t take it seriously until he visited South Dakota. From there, the couple went back to Texas to visit, and were married in August 2021. About a month after she discovered she was pregnant, the relationship soured, with issues of abuse being noted in tribal court when Hoof sought custody of Joann. Despite the strain, Barajas did attend the birth, while Hoof also felt the child would be better off with two parents.

However, two days after being discharged from the hospital, Hoof went to the Prairie Winds Hotel with the baby, her two other children and other members of her family. After dinner, Hoof’s father went to the casino, and she stayed in a hotel room with her kids. After going out to her father’s truck to get her hospital bag, Hoof returned to find Joann, Barajas and his army duffle bag gone.

According to Hoof, Barajas, who was on leave from deployment for the baby’s birth, returned overseas after giving the baby to a member of his family, with whom Hoof has spent little time.

“I’ve been told I seem well put together, that I’m holding it together and stuff, but no. It’s been hard,” Hoof said. “I haven’t been able to sleep a lot because I miss her. That’s my baby. I didn’t get to sit with her and bond with her or anything.”

Hoof is hoping that this will cause a change in the law, regarding parental custody.

“I think something or a law needs to be made about this because other parents ae gonna see this, and think that, ‘Hey, I could go and kidnap my kid and then nothing’s gonna happen,’ no charges are going to be pressed or anything like that. Law enforcement is not going to get involved. It’s going to be me and that person.”

 

The post Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

Visit Original Source