On June 28, a child’s legal guardian had to take her husband to a medical appointment, and she left the boy’s birth mother in charge of taking care of him while she was gone. The guardian reportedly made it clear that they were not to leave her McDowell County home in her absence.
Between midnight and 1:00 am, members of the Logan County Station volunteer fire department went to help a woman that accidentally locked her keys in the trunk of her car. When they arrived, they reported that they saw a child in a diaper and tee shirt standing outside the car. The youngster was allegedly close enough to the road that he could be hit by a moving vehicle.
Police went to the scene, and the fire department workers explained what they saw and informed the officers that they believed the child was disabled. When they talked to the woman, who they learned was the boy’s biological mother, she told them he is blind and autistic.
The officers believed the woman appeared as if she was under the influence, and they conducted roadside sobriety tests. The results reportedly confirmed that the woman was altered. She allegedly told them that she was a reformed drug user, but said she began using meth again a couple of weeks ago.
Child Protective Services learned that the woman had her parental rights taken away a few years prior and that she was not supposed to take the child from the guardian’s home.
The woman was taken into custody and booked into the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility. She is facing preliminary charges of first-offense DUI (controlled substance), DUI with a minor, DUI habitual user, and child neglect creating a risk of injury. She is currently housed in the Southwestern Regional Jail in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
CPS returned the child to his legal guardian.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a criminal offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.