Las Cruces Mother Goes Out Drinking, Leaves Toddlers Home Alone

A Las Cruces mother who left her kids home alone so she could get her drink on was arrested after neighbors found the toddlers wandering around outside unsupervised.

Las Cruces police were called to 25-year-old Kandy Marmolejo’s apartment complex at around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday by neighbors who reported finding her 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter roaming the parking lot looking for their mother. Police allege Marmolejo left the children home alone while she went to a friend’s house to drink beer and socialize, reportedly for as many as four hours.

Before calling authorities, neighbors contacted Marmolejo who told them she’d be home in about an hour. When she finally did return, police say she retrieved her daughter, but neighbors refused to let her take the 1-year-old.

The mother was charged with two counts of negligent child abuse and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center. The children who other than being hungry, appeared fine and were turned over to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.