Previous Story
Woman charged with child neglect is released
|
Posted on Apr 22 2021
A mother who was charged with child neglect for allegedly leaving her minor children home alone has made bail and was released to her brothers.
Tiffany Joy Villanueva, 27, was released to her two brothers as third-party custodians after posting a $500 cash bail.
Villanueva, who is accused of leaving her 2-year-old child and two other minor children at home at 2am to meet with a male friend, requested the court to allow her to post 10% of the initial $5,000 cash bail and to release her to her two brothers.
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho granted Villanueva’s request after her two brothers assured the court that they would call the police if she violates the conditions of her release.
As part of the conditional release, Camacho ordered Villanueva not to have any contact with her children.
According to court documents, Villanueva told police in a freely given statement that she left her apartment with her minor children unattended before 2am to meet with a male friend in Koblerville because she thought she was “going to have fun.” Villanueva then waited for the 2am to 4am curfew to end before heading home.
She added that even though there weren’t any other adults watching her children when she left, she did not inform her neighbors that she was going to leave her children unattended for some time.
in the early hours of April 7, witnesses reported to police that they heard a baby crying at Sally’s Apartment in San Antonio. They said they knocked on the locked door to Villanueva’s apartment, but no one answered so they called the police.
At the scene, responding officers gained entry into the apartment through one of the windows. The officers observed that the room was messy with empty bottles, food, and other plates on top of one of the tables as well as unwashed dishes in the kitchen sink. They also saw two juveniles sleeping on the bed, including the crying toddler.
The officers, who said they did not find any adult in the apartment unit, summoned the Division of Youth Services to the scene.
