‘She wasn’t fleeing. She was just moving.’
A woman found in Portland with two children who'd been ordered to return to state custody is back in Spokane.
Patricia J. Lyons, 25, is in jail on $15,000 bond after she pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court.on one count of second-degree assault.
Spokane police say she stabbed her 50-year-old ex-boyfriend April 3. The alleged stabbing caused Child Protective Services to order Lyons' 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son back to state custody, but Lyons left Spokane before police could locate them.
Police and CPS urged the public to keep an eye out for Lyons before Portland police found her daughter at an elementary school on Thursday. Police found Lyons and her son at a nearby motel. Police took the children into protective custody but couldn't arrest Lyons because Spokane County hadn't issued a warrant.
Her lawyer, David Partovi, said in court today that the case has been blown out of proportion.
"She wasn't fleeing. She was just moving," Partovi said.
Lyons entered a not guilty plea during her first appearance today.
Partovi helped Lyons turn herself in Monday night.