Las Cruces couple accused of dropping off 6-year-old, leaving him to wander street
A Las Cruces couple is charged with child abandonment after police say a 6-year-old was found wandering alone. One defendant allegedly told officers she was “fed up” with his behavior at school.
Police say child was found alone; defendant told officers she was “fed up” with his behavior at school
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces couple is facing child abandonment charges after police say a 6-year-old child was found wandering alone on a city street.
Officers were dispatched May 1 to the 1800 block of South Espina Street for a report of an abandoned child, where they found the boy in the care of a stranger, according to a statement of probable cause. A witness told police the child had been walking by himself down Espina Street without an adult.
Through their investigation, officers identified the child and contacted Maya Hidalgo and Ariana Hidalgo, who are both custodians of the boy.
According to the report, police say the two admitted they drove the child and dropped him off near an apartment complex on East Boutz and left him there without arranging care. The report states the defendants did not contact the child’s father or any other potential guardian.
Police say one of the defendants later told officers she was “fed up” with the child’s behavior at school.
The child was later found wandering a public street and did not know where he was or how to contact his parents, according to the report.
Both Maya Hidalgo and Ariana Hidalgo are charged with abandonment of a child. Under New Mexico law, abandonment of a child is charged as a misdemeanor when the child does not suffer death or great bodily harm.
Court records show both were booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center and initially held without bond, a standard practice before a first appearance.
The case was filed May 1 in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court. Both defendants were scheduled to appear for arraignment Monday afternoon.
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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