In South Valley, an 11-year-old buying meth for mom
Kids show deputies where parent hides drugs
Editor’s note: The Journal is not publishing full names in this story to protect the identities of the children.
For Mr. Garcia, it was the last straw. The grandfather called 911 late last month to report that his 28-year-old daughter had sent her son, who is 11, to pick up meth from a dealer at a nearby park in the South Valley. He told a detective his daughter had done this before — and that it had been going on for years.
On Sept. 25, Mr. Garcia’s daughter was charged with possession of a controlled substance, child abuse and conspiracy to commit child abuse.
Days later, Mr. Garcia kicked his daughter out of the home and filed for guardianship of her three children — two boys and a girl, the youngest one 9 — alleging in court
records that his daughter is “mentally and physically unable to take care of children.”
Mr. Garcia’s daughter “has been, and is currently, on street drugs. She has placed all three kids in danger by having the kids purchase meth for her,” his court filings state.
The grandfather declined to comment for this story.
Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy Alex Apodaca said deputies were asked to stand by and “keep the peace” when the daughter came by to collect her belongings, but the woman ended up giving them a mouthful about her father kicking her out.
“And we’re like, ‘No it’s not his fault this is happening, it’s yours. You’re the one consuming meth in front of your kids, that’s why you got arrested the other day,’ ” Apodaca said. “‘He’s trying to be a good grandpa to his grandkids, you’re apparently not trying to be a good mother.’ ”
According to a search warrant affidavit filed in state District Court, on Sept. 25 deputies responded to Mr. Garcia’s South Valley home around 6 p.m. after the grandfather called 911.
Apodaca helped search the home, and, three days later, the encounter was still stuck in the back of his mind.
“They seemed like great kids, ... two boys, and a 9-year-old girl,” he said. “… They’re like, ‘Hey, I think my mom hides her meth over here in this room.’ ”
The kids were right. Deputies found meth, suboxone and some burnt up foil.
Deputies say Mr. Garcia told them he grew suspicious when his daughter told one of her sons to go to the park. He suspected it was “to pick up drugs.”
“What did you get?” the grandfather asked the boy when he returned from the park. He told deputies his grandson was “scared and did not want to tell him.”
The grandfather searched the boy and found “two powdery white-colored rocks” of meth in a piece of paper, which he gave to deputies, according to the affidavit.
Deputies say they spoke with the grandson, who told them his mother had given him money and sent him to get “the stuff” from the “Cuban guy” at the park. The boy said he handed the guy the cash and was handed “the stuff” in return.
According to the complaint, the boy’s mother confirmed his story.
When asked why she sent her son instead of getting the drugs herself, she told deputies, “It was just a fast, stupid decision.” She said she “uses meth occasionally, about every two months,” but she insisted that she “is a responsible parent with a job.”
Before being hauled off to jail, the woman told deputies her father is “always trying to get her in trouble.”
“These cases are always delicate,” said Maggie Shepard, the spokeswoman for the Law Offices of the Public Defender, which is defending the woman. “We have not received the evidence in this case, yet, so we still have very little information at this stage. We look forward to getting a better picture as the case progresses.”
The three children told deputies their mother kept pipes for smoking drugs in her dresser and purse while she stashed the drugs under her mattress and sometimes in a black box.
Deputies say the children told them their mother smokes the drugs in her bedroom or the bathroom and she would “search around for white things on the floor.”
“We’re like, ‘How crazy that you know what meth looks like, that you know this,’ ” Apodaca said. “…Good lord, you’re 9 years old. You know your mom’s smoking something illegal.’”