Boy, 9, tests positive for cocaine; mother arrested

Police arrested a woman whose 9-year-old son tested positive for cocaine.

Mary Lou Barela, 31, of the 100 block of Fleming Avenue, is charged with one count of negligent child abuse. The charge is a third-degree felony count.

On August 7, 2016, police were told Barela was allegedly using a social media site to solicit herself and that she was possibly with her three children at Young Park. A police officer located Barela at Young Park with her three children, ages 11, 9 and 6.

Barela claimed someone hacked her social media account and posted information without her consent. She allegedly acknowledged she was at Young Park to meet a man she was unable to identify, police said.

The officer later determined Barela was in possession of a backpack that contained drug paraphernalia.

Police officials said detectives later learned Barela had smoked crack cocaine two days earlier and indicated her friends were users of methamphetamines. Detectives were concerned for her children’s welfare since she was unable to account for their whereabouts when she used illegal drugs.

Barela’s three children were transferred to the custody of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. Barela submitted to a drug test along with her three children. Barela and her 9-year-old son both tested positive for cocaine, police said.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending, police said.

Barela was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center, where she is being held on a $1,000 bond.