Welfare check on juvenile leads to grandmother’s arrest for drugs
A welfare check on a juvenile resulted in a traffic stop Thursday and the arrest of the juvenile’s grandmother on felony drug charges and for felony child endangerment.
Teresa Ann Rivera, 60, who lists a Spring Street address, was taken into custody shortly before 5 p.m. and charged with possession of a controlled substance, meth, with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and possession of drug paraphernalia and first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, each punishable by up to six years.
Rivera, who had a local misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear and a warrant out of Montgomery County, was also cited for driving on a suspended driver’s license and no insurance. She was being held on a $16,000 bond and was set to appear Friday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Garland County sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Grubbs was patrolling the area of McClendon Road and Westinghouse Terrace when he spotted a tan 1999 Honda Accord stopping at the intersection.
He noted the vehicle matched the description of one related to a prior call for a welfare check on a female juvenile who was reportedly with her grandmother, identified as Rivera.
The juvenile’s Snap Chat GPS was reportedly pinging from the area of the 1400 block of McClendon and a computer check of the Accord allegedly showed it did not have insurance.
Grubbs activated his lights as the vehicle turned into a driveway in the 1400 block and made a traffic stop. As he approached the car, he immediately recognized the front seat passenger as the juvenile from the welfare check and then made contact with the driver, who was identified as Rivera.
He asked Rivera if he could talk to the juvenile by herself regarding the welfare check and Rivera said yes. Grubbs told the juvenile the reason for the welfare check and she “looked surprised” but then lifted her shirt halfway up “to prove she wasn’t using meth.”
Grubbs allegedly saw a pink glass pipe with brown residue sticking out of the juvenile’s waistband so he detained her and she reportedly stated Rivera told her to hide the pipe prior to being stopped.
Rivera was taken into custody at that point on the warrants and Grubbs told her about “his findings” and she allegedly stated, “If you give me a cigarette, I’ll tell you what is underneath my front seat.” Grubbs retrieved a cigarette for her and she allegedly stated there was “enough meth to last a month” under there.
Grubbs searched where she told him and reportedly located a pink and blue box with several brown bags in it, scales and two glass pipes. Upon further investigation, he found a clear plastic container with blue tabs on it that reportedly held an off-white substance and a red straw and two separate clear baggies with a brown substance.
After being read her rights, Rivera allegedly stated the clear container had meth and the brown baggies contained “leftover” meth from previous uses. She also reportedly admitted the pipes belonged to her. She said the scale was hers and she used it “to confirm the accurate weights” of the meth.
As for the pipe the juvenile had, Rivera initially stated she must have found it, but then stated she gave it to her and told her to hide it from Grubbs.
Rivera was taken to the detention center where the substances found were tested and confirmed to be meth.