Man Arrested After 14-Year-Old Neighbor Is Hospitalized For Alcohol Poisoning

A 14-year-old boy began drinking straight out of a bottle of vodka after his neighbor served him several cocktails, police said.

The teen’s mother told police that he had gone downstairs to 29-year-old Jesse Ramos’ apartment and had been there for 30 minutes when Ramos came over and told her the boy was sick.

Police said the boy’s mother went downstairs and found her son on his back, choking and with vomit on his face.

The woman took the boy home and called 911.

When officers arrived, they said the boy was unconscious and vomiting. He was taken to Memorial Medical Center, where a blood-draw indicated his blood-alcohol content was at 0.209 percent, which is nearly three times the legal limit for an adult to drive.

Las Cruces police investigators said Ramos gave the boy some mixed drinks consisting of vodka and orange juice, commonly know as screwdrivers. Detectives learned that after drinking a few cocktails, the boy took the bottle and started drinking straight out of it.

Ramos was arrested on suspicion of intentional child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was booked into the the Dona Ana County Detention Center with bond set at $15,000.