LCPD: Toddler tests positive for meth, mother charged
Police arrested a Las Cruces woman suspected of smoking methamphetamine near her 17-month-old daughter.
22-year-old Marissa Dianne Garcia, of the 600 block of Frank Maes Avenue, was charged with one third-degree felony count of child abuse after the toddler allegedly tested positive for meth.
The investigation began on October 13, 2017 when police were dispatched to a wreck involving a Toyota Corolla at the intersection of Las Cruces and Manzanita.
The Corolla crashed into a wooden utility pole and police officers soon learned the vehicle had a fictitious license plate along with several hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia inside.
Police said Garcia, a passenger in the vehicle, was on probation. The woman allegedly told detectives she used heroin and methamphetamine the day of the wreck.
Investigators later learned Garcia left her 17-month-old daughter in the custody of a woman who is a convicted felon and currently on supervision for DWI and child abuse.
Garcia also indicated to investigators she tried to stay away from her daughter when she used heroin and methamphetamine, but after using the drugs, would hold her young child.
Garcia was arrested Nov. 16 for violating terms of her probation. She remains jailed without bond at the Dona Ana County Detention Center.
