Two Texas women face serious charges after allegedly giving a toddler six shots of vodka.
The child’s mother, 17-year-old Shadreon Jefferson, and the victim’s aunt, 24-year-old Shamara Batiste, were both charged with felony child endangerment, according to ABC 13.
The little girl, only 1 year old, was rushed to a Houston hospital on Feb. 8 after she was dropped off at her father’s home. The father called authorities when he noticed the girl’s eyes rolling into the back of her head, according to court documents. When authorities arrived, they said she was unresponsive, moaning and vomiting.
At the hospital, doctors said the child had a blood alcohol content of 0.268, more than three times the legal limit for adults, according to KHOU. The child suffered acute alcohol poisoning.
A motive for the crime wasn’t immediately clear.
While Jefferson was sleeping, Batiste allegedly gave the child a vodka mixer. According to a criminal complaint, Batiste admitted that the baby drank about six shots of vodka before falling asleep. The child was apparently swaying and smelled of alcohol at the hospital.
On Wednesday, State District Judge Ryan Patrick signed a protective order keeping the women from the child after Jefferson was arraigned, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“I see them every day and the baby is good, know what I’m saying?” neighbor Dante Montgomery told KHOU. “Taken care of, they always feed and take care of them. If they did give [her] vodka, they deserve the punishment they’re getting, but like I say, I can’t believe that they did it.”
The child is now in the care of her maternal grandmother after spending four days in the hospital.
Jefferson is free on a $10,000 bail, but authorities are still seeking out Batiste.
Sobriety is a journey, not a destination. 