LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A New Mexico mother faces multiple counts after police say she left her 2-year-old daughter locked out of the house Thursday night.
A neighbor noticed the girl alone, outside the home along Doña Ana Road in Las Cruces around 11 p.m. and called police, according to the Las Cruces Sun News.
When officers arrived, they found 27-year-old Alexis Valdivia asleep in the house with her three other children, according to the paper. All four children are under the age of 9, authorities said.
Officers searched the home and found drug paraphernalia in multiple rooms, including the children’s bedrooms, KVIA reports.
Valdivia was arrested on charges of child abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia. She is currently being held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, according to court records.
Valdivia’s children are now in the care of a family member, police told KDBC.