After seeing their actions while holding their two infants in the parking lot, a bystander phoned the police to inquire about the mothers. The moms not only displayed obvious indications of drunkenness, according to the police, but they also admitted to drinking.
According to a news statement from the police department, the inebriated mothers, who both had their children with them, were “barely able to stand, let alone care for the infants,” Due to their inability to care for their children while inebriated, Giordano and Lecolst were taken into custody by the police and charged with child endangerment.
Baylie Lecolst of Salem, who was 22 at the time of her arrest, was allegedly seen holding her 4-month-old kid over her head while resting in a dirty puddle in the parking lot while Giordano looked on. According to Captain Joel Dolan, “The puddle was filled with water and motor vehicle fluids.”
According to the Eagle-Tribune, the infant of Amber Giordano, who was also present in the parking lot, was just one month old at the time of the event. Sadly, it seems that the mother of this kid is not unknown to the police. According to documents, a 24-year-old Hampstead woman was previously accused of having a controlled substance in her possession.
The two women were equally obstructive throughout the four-hour-long booking procedure, according to the police. According to police, the ladies screamed at several of the cops and called them names while arguing with them. This should have taken no more than 45 minutes, according to Capt. Dolan. “However, they refused to reveal their residence. They refused to provide us with the contact information for sober adults who could take them up. Addresses were being given for towns that didn’t exist.
During the drawn-out booking procedure, one of the women tried to nurse her child, but the cops “immediately ordered her to stop,” according to Dolan, since infants cannot safely consume breast milk with any amount of alcohol in it.
The babies were ultimately turned over to the parents of each of the ladies, but while police were still looking into the case, given the circumstances, they contacted the New Hampshire Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Dolan added, “They made some pretty bad choices and placed two babies in that much peril. At that time, they “could hardly care for themselves, much less two helpless infants.”
After being scheduled to appear in court, Lecolst and Giordano were both charged with misdemeanour charges of endangering the welfare of a child and freed on bond. A bench warrant was subsequently issued when Giordano did not show up for her first court hearing, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. Due to her absence, she may be charged with further offences.
Capt. Dolan said that Giordano has not stayed trouble-free since her arrest in Salem, adding that she has been detained at least twice in the recent weeks before her court hearing. “Aside from the warrant, we are going to look into adding violation of bail condition charges,” he added.
Lecolst did, however, show up in court where she entered a not-guilty plea. She was due back in court for a review hearing at a later time. Lecolst, however, is also no stranger to the legal system. Police records show that Baylie Lecolst, then just 18 years old, was accused of five charges of stealing.
The moms’ conduct was sharply criticised in several of the reader comments on the Boston Globe’s first piece about the event. One reader predicted that the infants may soon perish, saying, “They will all be dead. When someone is so inebriated, judgement is rendered useless. How long until they stop feeding their kids because they need the money for drugs or booze, or leave them in a hot vehicle on a hot day (if they have any)? They need aid. they are all.