Police: Mom held after she, teen found drunk

HOT SPRINGS — An intoxicated woman was arrested early Wednesday on a charge of felony child endangerment after she got her 17-year-old daughter intoxicated and caused the teen to be injured, authorities said.

Stacey Craig, 43, who lists an Autumn Street address in Hot Springs, was taken into custody shortly before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and charged with a felony count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, punishable by up to six years in prison, and misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

Craig was in custody Thursday in lieu of $3,500 bond in Garland County.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Hot Springs police were called to the 700 block of Spring Street regarding a disturbance, and spoke to a woman in front of one of the apartments who said her sister, identified as Craig, and Craig’s daughter had showed up at her apartment around 9 p.m.

She said she saw Craig providing alcohol to the teenager, and when Craig began to “get out of control,” the woman said she made both of them go outside, according to reports.

Cpl. Mike Brown noted in his report that he saw a young female lying unresponsive on the steps and appearing to be “very intoxicated.” He noted that she was “unable to speak, keep her eyes open or make any body movements.”

Craig, who was sitting beside her, also appeared to be intoxicated, Brown reported, and was attempting to wake the teenager by “shoving her around.” That caused the teen to fall forward and hit her head on the sidewalk.

An ambulance transported the daughter to National Park Medical Center for treatment, reports said.

Craig told Brown that she “gave her daughter a few drinks, but she was not drunk,” according to reports.

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Craig refused to cooperate or leave her daughter alone, the affidavit says. She was unable to stand on her own, her speech was slurred, and her eyes were glassy and bloodshot, the affidavit states.

As she was being taken into custody, she began yelling and cursing, causing other tenants to step outside “to see what was going on,” reports said. She continued to yell and curse up to the point she was placed in a patrol car, according to reports.

After arriving at the jail, Craig submitted to a Breathalyzer test and registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.303%, more than three times the legal limit, reports said. She was then transported to a Hot Springs hospital, where she was tested again and her blood-alcohol level was 0.310%, reports said.