Mother mourns Durham woman killed in weekend shooting
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A mother is mourning the loss of her daughter after a fatal shooting in Durham during the weekend.
Police said 38-year-old Lontrel Alston is charged in connection with the death of Victoria James, who was killed Saturday while inside her car with her two children in the 5300 block of Revere Road.
Durham police responded to the scene after receiving a call reporting the shooting. Authorities allege Alston fired into James' vehicle, killing her and injuring her daughter. James' son was not hurt.
"I just want to hear her again," James' mother, Judy Ober Hughes, said. "Her life was just taken for no reason."
Ober Hughes said Alston was her daughter's ex-boyfriend and that the two had been separated for more than a year before the shooting.
According to court records, Alston was convicted of assault on a female in Halifax County in 2018 in a separate case.
During a court appearance Monday in Durham, public defenders argued that Alston is not a flight risk and described him as a working father employed in landscaping who supports five children monthly.
A judge ordered Alston held without bond. His next court date is Oct. 1.
As family members grieve, James is being remembered as a "likeable, loving person" who brought energy and warmth to those around her.
"She would light up a room," Ober Hughes said. "She wanted to love everybody."
Ober Hughes also spoke about domestic violence, saying her daughter had been afraid of Alston.
"This was her ex-boyfriend who wanted her back," Ober Hughes said. "This is so raw and so painful. It's affecting all of us. When somebody tells you that they're going to do something, don't sit there and think because you used to love them, or they used to love you, that they won't do it. Take them at their word; be safe."
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