Parents arrested after DWI investigation involving 2 children

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso County Sheriff's Department arrested two parents after the father allegedly drove while intoxicated with children in the car.

Tuesday, deputies stopped a car that didn't use a turn signal and didn't stay in a single lane, EPCSO said.

Deputies identified the driver as 25-year-old Ricardo Rivera and said he showed signs of intoxication, such as the smell of an alcoholic beverage from his breath, documents said.

Two children, aged 2 and 3, were in the back of the car, EPCSO said. Sitting with the children was a "friend of his baby mama," documents said.

According to documents obtained by ABC-7, Rivera admitted to having a few drinks, including two beers while visiting his friend.

They arrested Rivera for driving while intoxicated after a field sobriety test. Rivera's blood alcohol concentration registered as 0.204, EPCSO said. That's nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.

Later, Rivera said he drank Miller High Life "caguamas," which are 32-ounce beers, documents said. He also said he stopped at a Circle K while dropping off the children's mother at home and bought more alcoholic drinks.

According to documents, he admitted to drinking and driving.

A deputy searched Rivera's car and found two Miller High Life beers in the front and six in the back that were "cold to the touch," according to documents. Some of the drinks were empty or had less of its original amount.

After investigating Rivera, deputies said the children's mother, 29-year-old Cynthia Garcia, allegedly put the children in danger.

Deputies got two warrants for abandoning or endangering a child for Garcie, and issued them with no bond.

Both parents booked into the Downtown detention facility.

Rivera was charged with DWI with a child and a $2,000 bond, EPCSO said.

EPCSO noted the arrest marks Garcia's second charge for abandoning or endangering a child within the last three months. According to another arrest document, she left her daughter alone in their apartment while she drank at a different apartment.

In March, a deputy went to an apartment in Canutillo for a welfare check, documents said. People reported hearing Rivera's daughter crying and yelling for her mother for more than an hour.

The deputy couldn't find anyone but later found the girl crying behind a screen door of Rivera's apartment.

Documents said the girl walked to the deputy with her arms extended and seemed "relieved to have [the deputy] present, however appeared scared and was pointing towards the apartment door."

The deputy carried the girl while searching the area. Garcia appeared from two properties away, documents said, holding a 32-ounce Miller High Life beer.

Garcia told the deputy she lived at the apartment where the deputy found her daughter. Documents said the girl "had been fussy throughout the day" and fell asleep. Garcia said she left her daughter sleeping in the apartment 30 minutes before meeting the deputy.

Garcia said she went to her sister's apartment with her son and stayed to drink beer and eat wings, according to documents. She was on her way to check on her daughter when she saw deputies at her apartment, she said.

Documents said the girl was left alone for 30 minutes without adult supervision in an "unkept and unsecured apartment." Additionally, the girl was left with hazards like fecal stains, soiled food, trash, sharp tools and cleaning chemicals.

This story has been updated with additional details.