Font ResizeLAS CRUCES - An East Mesa woman whose now 6-year-old daughter tested positive for methamphetamines avoided jail by pleading guilty to negligent child abuse Tuesday morning.
Marlene C. Sandoval, 33, is already on probation until 2015 after being convicted in August for felony drug trafficking. Her new sentence - three years supervised probation - will run concurrently with that sentence, according to Do-a Ana sheriff's investigator Bo Nevarez, the arresting officer in the case.
Sandoval was arrested Aug. 10 after an acquaintance reported concerns that her daughter had been splattered by hot grease in a kitchen accident - but hadn't seen a doctor. Despite burns running the length of the little girl's arm, Sandoval hadn't taken her daughter to the doctor because, she allegedly told the acquaintance, she was afraid the girl would test positive for meth, according to court documents.
The girl tested just under the threshold for daily use, while her mother tested more than 10 times higher, according to court records.
After Sandoval and her daughter both tested positive for methamphetamines, the girl was immediately taken into protective custody and has been placed in foster care by the Children, Youth and Families Department.
Charges that Sandoval failed to seek medical assistance for her daughter's burns were dismissed as part of Tuesday's plea arrangement.
Sandoval, of Flatland Road, about four miles north of U.S. 70 on the East Mesa, was arrested after a
Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462.
