Police: Mother left 3-month-old child in SUV; attacked police officer

Police arrested a woman suspected of leaving her 3-month-old child alone in a vehicle while she allegedly caused a disturbance inside a golf course clubhouse.

Jenny L. Merta, 39, of the 6100 block of High Desert Drive, is charged with one count each of child abandonment, battery on a peace officer and resisting an officer.

Sunday, October 2, 2016, police learned Merta left her home with her children, a 3-year-old and a 3-month-old, in a vehicle that had no child safety seats. Officers also learned Merta had allegedly been displaying weird and unstable behavior over the past few days.

At about 4 p.m. that day, officers learned Merta was inside the clubhouse of Sonoma Ranch Golf Club where she was allegedly acting disorderly and disruptive with the staff. She also was allowing her naked 3-year-old child run around the clubhouse unsupervised, police said.

When an officer tried to encourage Merta to leave the clubhouse, she allegedly struck the officer and physically resisted commands to comply. Merta was detained after a short struggle police said.

Officers located the Toyota 4-Runner Merta had driven to the clubhouse. The vehicle had been left running with two windows down. In the rear compartment of the SUV, officers allegedly found Merta’s 3-month-old child, unsecured and lying on a jacket.

Police determined the young child had been alone in the vehicle for approximately 30-45 minutes. The child is okay, police said.

Merta was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she’s being held without bond.