WANDERING TODDLER LEADS POLICE TO METH DEALERS

OCEANO -- An Oceano mother and her boyfriend were arrested late Tuesday for
suspected child endangerment and drug violations after a neighbor found a
diapered toddler playing unattended near a busy street.

Sheriff's deputies said a search of the toddler boy's house turned up
baggies of methamphetamine in plain view, drug paraphernalia and evidence of
suspected drug sales.

Deputies said they also seized two semi-automatic handguns -- one loaded --
and $2,613 cash. When the mother was arrested, she had $923 in one shirt
pocket and a crack pipe in the other, according to reports.

"It was 45 minutes before the mother noticed the kid was gone and came out
to look for him," said Sgt. John Giese. "He was filthy, he had nothing on
but soiled diapers and a pair of tennis shoes. We went to the house to make
sure no other kids were in jeopardy and to make sure the living conditions
were appropriate -- which they weren't."

Deputies were called at 7 p.m. to the 1300 block of South Fourth Street
regarding an unattended child. A resident said she spent about 20 minutes
trying to find the boy's parents before she called 911.

Deputies learned from another neighbor that the boy had been seen "roaming
around the neighborhood" alone on other occasions, said Lt. Pat Hedges. "The
neighbors didn't know who the parents were."

About 20 minutes after deputies arrived, a woman approached and said she was
the boy's mother. The 24-year-old woman, Hilda Maciel, said through a
translator that she looked outside and noticed her son was gone, Hedges
said.

Reports indicate Maciel allowed deputies to enter her home, a few doors down
from where the boy was seen playing. "While deputies looked around the
house, they discovered a minimal amount of ... food in the refrigerator and
noticed the residence was unclean and infested with cockroaches," said
Hedges.

Deputies also encountered Maciel's 37-year-old boyfriend, Jose Luis Galvan,
who reportedly lives at the residence but is not the boy's father, Hedges
said.

Reports state that deputies noticed baggies of small amounts of meth in
plain view throughout the house, including one on top of the television and
another in the front room.

Galvan, who is on felony probation for possessing methamphetamine,
reportedly shrugged his shoulders when deputies asked him who the baggies
belonged to, Hedges said.

He said deputies also seized from the home pay sheets for suspected drug
deals, drug packaging materials, a scale with suspected meth residue and
property believed stolen.

Videocassette recorders, jewelry, cell phones, tools and a clarinet in a
case were seized and will be returned if there's no evidence to show they're
stolen, said Sgt. Giese. An investigation is continuing.

Galvan and Maciel were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment,
possessing meth for sale and possessing drug paraphernalia. Both remained in
County Jail Wednesday on $50,000 bail each.

The boy is in the custody of Child Protective Services.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst