Las Cruces child abandonment defendants released without bond
Ariana and Maya Hidalgo were released without bond and ordered to return for June pretrial hearings in a Las Cruces child abandonment case.
Ariana and Maya Hidalgo are scheduled for separate June pretrial hearings after police accused them of leaving a 6-year-old boy alone near an apartment complex
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - Ariana and Maya Hidalgo have been released without having to post bond after police accused them of leaving a 6-year-old boy alone near an apartment complex in Las Cruces.
Court records filed May 4 in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court show both defendants were released on personal recognizance, meaning the court did not require a secured bond before release.
The court ordered both defendants not to possess firearms, consume alcohol, consume cannabis without a medical certification or buy, sell, consume or possess illegal drugs. The orders also require both women to notify the court of address changes, maintain contact with their attorneys and maintain employment or actively seek employment.
The release orders do not indicate that either defendant was ordered to avoid contact with the child or witnesses in the case.
Ariana Hidalgo is scheduled for a pretrial hearing June 25 before Magistrate Judge Jeannette A. Mondragon. Maya Hidalgo is scheduled for a pretrial hearing June 26 before the same judge.
As first reported by Organ Mountain News, police previously said officers responded May 1 to the 1800 block of South Espina Street after a 6-year-old child was found in the care of a stranger. A witness told police the boy had been walking alone down Espina Street without an adult.
Damien Willis
According to a criminal complaint, police identified the child and contacted Ariana and Maya Hidalgo, who officers said were both custodians of the boy.
Police alleged the two admitted they drove the child and dropped him off near an apartment complex on East Boutz Road before leaving without arranging care or contacting the child’s father or another guardian.
One defendant later told officers she was “fed up” with the child’s behavior at school, according to the complaint.
Police said the child did not know where he was or how to contact his parents.
Ariana and Maya Hidalgo are each charged with abandonment of a child, a misdemeanor under New Mexico law when the child does not suffer death or great bodily harm.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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