Arizona Woman Who Forgot Baby On Car Roof Gets 16 Years Probation
An Arizona woman who forgot her 5-week-old baby boy in a car seat on the roof of her car when she drove off has been sentenced to 16 years of supervised probation.
Identified as Catalina Clouser, the mother was arrested last year when she had forgotten her baby atop her car and drove off. On June 2, 2012, Clouser’s 1-month-old baby was found sitting in a car seat in the middle of the road near 45th Avenue and Cholla Street. Phoenix police Officer James Holmes said officers responded to a call of a baby strapped into a car seat lying in the middle of the road at 1 O’clock at night.
Though unharmed, an abandoned baby at such a dangerous location had caused quite a panic. The baby, apparently unaware of its miraculous escape was taken in by Child Protective Services (CPS) and the mother was arrested. Clouser was taken into custody when she returned to the scene where the police were investigating.
The police were pretty sure Clouser forgot the boy was on the roof her car when she left the home of friends. Incidentally she was suspected to have smoked marijuana. However, a lot of investigative police–work was avoided when Catalina Clouser pleaded guilty to child abuse and misdemeanor DUI in February this year, reported azfamily.com.
While the locals were worried that she might get away with a just slap on her wrist and compulsory safe parenting classes, the court took the case pretty seriously and have ordered Catalina to undergo 16 years of supervised probation. Ironically, she has been given a choice; either the probation of 3 months jail time, reported Huffington Post.
Though it is as yet unknown what the woman chose, it will certainly be interesting to see what Clouser decides. Though it is the first case of a baby abandoned on the roof and ending up on an intersection, it is certainly not the first time, a baby has been left unattended. Quite recently, another Arizona woman, Shanesha Taylor was taken into police custody when she left her 2.5 year old toddler in a car with the windows down so that she could attend an interview.
While Taylor’s reason of being unable to afford child care, won the citizens who collected over $85,000, Clouser was properly stoned and hence the courts decided she needed strict supervised probation to ensure she stayed off drugs and remained clean, till it was time her son left for college.
[Image Credit | Zoomer]
