FortBendNow.com

A woman whose son complained he was assaulted by two female McDonald’s employees says the sheriff’s office released a video of the incident to retaliate against her for filing an internal affairs complaint.

On Tuesday, Craig Brady, Fort Bend County chief deputy, released a video of a July 13 incident, captured on security cameras at the restaurant, at 1125 Crabb River Road.

The video shows Raymond Smith, 20, sitting in the restaurant with his back to the camera, at first talking and eating with a woman sitting across from him at a booth, who is later joined by a second woman.

An image captured from security video appears to show two women wrestling with Raymond Smith, who is hidden from view.

After several minutes, the two women appear to be grabbing at Smith and tussling with him for a short time. Later the women are alleged to have gotten into Smith’s car and stolen some CDs and coins.

Smith said he was sexually assaulted during the incident, which drew heavy news coverage after his mother, Richmond-area resident Barbara Jones, called Houston’s KTRK-TV 13 to complain that the sheriff’s office wasn’t taking her son’s complaint seriously.

Brady, who has disputed that contention, said Tuesday at a press conference that he decided to release the video in part because Jones failed to honor an agreement between the two of them.

As part of that agreement, Jones was to have stated in conversations with members of the news media that she believed the incident had been thoroughly investigated, Brady said. But “in her subsequent dealings with the media she did not say the case was fully investigated.”

Jones disagreed.

“It was not in the agreement that I go out and do that,” she said. “And he’s not going to force words into my mouth.”

The real reason for the release of the video, Jones maintains, was retaliation.

“I lodged my complaint, and then the next day, this happens,” she added.

Jones said she and her son both went to the sheriff’s office in Richmond early Monday morning, and filed separate citizen’s complaints. She said her son’s complaint was filed against deputies who arrived at McDonald’s on the evening of July 13. Her complaint was filed against Brady, whom she said she accused of interfering with the investigation.

Smith has said that during the incident, one of the women bit him in the back while the other groped him.

Jones said she was at home that evening, tired but waiting for Smith to arrive before going to bed.

He came in “and he says ‘they went crazy up there’” at McDonald’s. “‘They were biting me and pulling on my penis.’”

“I said, ‘oh hell no. You go back down there and call the Fort Bend sheriff. Where was the manager?’” Jones said. “He said, ‘mama, one of them was the manager.’”

Jones contends that deputies on the scene were dismissive of Smith’s complaint, with one saying “man, I’m just not buying this” before making an inappropriate remark. Another, she said, remarked “Poor little you. You couldn’t get up and leave?”

Brady said Tuesday that audio recordings made automatically by deputies at the scene do not support Jones’ contention. He did, however, say audio revealed “there were some tone of voice issues” involving one deputy “that I don’t agree with.”

Jones said the way deputies handled her son’s initial complaint prompted her to call the TV station that night.

“It was because of the way the deputies were treating him. That’s the only reason I called the media,” she said. “It’s OK for a guy to say no.”

As for the investigation, Jones said, “I have confidence in one man,” whom she identified as sheriff’s Det. Mariano Escobedo. “I think he did an excellent job. He seemed to be doing his job in the face of adversity.”

The women involved in the incident, who have not been identified, gave statements to detectives and were scheduled to take polygraph tests Tuesday.

They no longer work at the restaurant, according to an email from McDonald’s franchise holder Debbie Adams.

“Since learning about these allegations, we have fully cooperated with the authorities in their investigation of these claims,” Adams said. “We also conducted our own investigation to gather the facts.”

“Action has been taken, consistent with our employment policies. The individuals in question are no longer employed by my organization,” Adams said. “Beyond that, it would be inappropriate to discuss the personnel matters of these individuals.”

The sheriff’s office has turned over an investigative report of the incident to the county district attorney’s office, where officials will determine whether to pursue additional charges.

Jones said her understanding is that at least one charge will be handled by a county justice of the peace, but she’s unsure of how the case will proceed.

“I have been asking questions – what happens next? I’ve never had trouble or been in trouble before,” she said. “I don’t know about this side of the world. We go about our business and we leave folk alone.”