This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A noncustodial mother accused of abducting her daughter missed her own bench trial Wednesday afternoon and earned an arrest warrant.
Venus Barker, 39, was scheduled to stand trial on one count of custodial interference and one count of criminal trespassing, both class B misdemeanors.
But court documents indicate she failed to show up, and city attorneys proceeded without her in West Valley City's justice court. No verdict was issued, the documents reveal, but Judge Brendan McCullagh issued a $5,000 cash-only warrant for Barker's arrest.
Barker prompted an Amber Alert in March when she reportedly took her 10-year-old daughter from Silver Hills Elementary School.