A New York mother is facing serious charges after police found her passed out in her vehicle on Sep. 1. When police approached the 28-year-old woman in a Levittown parking lot, she was reportedly found asleep in her 2013 Dodge Dart while her infant son sat in the backseat. At the time of the incident, the woman was allegedly in possession of three glassine bags of heroin and a hypodermic needle.
Police claim all of the windows in the woman’s car were closed, and the vehicle was locked. After police allegedly knocked on the window several times, the woman eventually awakened to open the door. She was then taken into custody and charged for reckless endangerment, criminal contempt and endangering the welfare of a child. Although drug charges were not mentioned in the initial reports, the woman’s alleged drug use and unsupervised visit with the child were reportedly a violation of a protective order that had previously been issued.
As a result of the incident, the infant was taken to a hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion. He was kept in the hospital overnight before being turned over to Child Protective Services.
An attorney may be able to help someone facing these types of charges by conducting a thorough investigation into the police search and seizure. If police did not act lawfully at some point during the operation, some of the charges filed against the accused person could end up being dismissed. A criminal defense attorney might also negotiate a plea deal where the defendant enters a treatment program for addiction in an effort to avoid or reduce jail time.
Source: CBS New York, “Police: L.I. Mom Faces Charges After Being Found Passed Out In Hot Car With Child, Heroin“, September 02, 2014