Overview
- Deputies say Lucia Victoria Marie Cruz, 35, told her under-12 child to walk to Carnahan Elementary, roughly 19 miles from their West Side home.
- The child was found about a mile from home along State Highway 211 and was driven to the school by a witness who alerted school officers.
- According to incident reports, the child said Cruz argued with her boyfriend, drank a bottle of wine, passed out, and later told her to go to school alone.
- Deputies conducting a welfare check reported Cruz smelled of alcohol; the child had no cellphone, was placed with a relative, and Child Protective Services was notified.
- Court records show Cruz was booked on an abandoning/endangering a child charge and released after posting a $15,000 bond, while the child’s father told officials he holds custody under an existing agreement.