Crime & Safety
Three Accused in Felony Kidnapping of Beaumont Boy Scheduled in Murrieta Court Monday
Jordan Okuongha was held Sunday at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Jodie Okuongha and Edward Simpson were held Sunday at Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. Bail for each suspect was listed as $50,000.
Two men and a woman from Los Angeles County have been accused of kidnapping a Beaumont boy in an alleged child-custody abduction, and they are scheduled to appear in a Murrieta court Monday.
They were arrested early Thursday in Lynwood after police received a call Wednesday night reporting a child had been taken without permission from his mother's residence in Beaumont, according to Riverside County inmate records and Beaumont spokeswoman Darci Mulvihill.
Police responded about 11 p.m. Wednesday to the home in the area of Desert Lawn Drive and Champions Drive, where the mother said her 3-year-old son had been taken by his aunt and an accomplice, with a possible destination of the father's residence, according to Mulvihill.
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The boy's father was identified as Jordan Okuongha, 24, of Lynwood. The boy's aunt and her accomplice were identified as Jodie Okuongha, 22, of Lynwood, and Edward Simpson, 24, of Lynwood.
Beaumont police requested assistance from Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, who went to Jordan Okuongha's residence in the 4900 block of Abbott Road in Lynwood.
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Deputies found the three suspects and the boy, who was unharmed. Beaumont police arrived and transported the suspects and the boy back to Beaumont. The boy was reunited with his mother early Thursday.
The suspects were booked just after 7 a.m. Thursday at Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, on charges of felony kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Jordan Okuongha was held Sunday at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Jodie Okuongha and Simpson were held Sunday at Smith Correctional Facility. Bail for each suspect was listed as $50,000.
The three are scheduled to appear in court Monday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Police urged anyone with further information about the alleged kidnapping to call Beaumont police detectives at (951) 769-8500.
Tipsters can also send information to crimetips@beaumontpd.org, or call WeTip anonymously at 1-800-78-CRIME.
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