Two parents have been arrested and charged with child endangerment after a 7-day-old infant was discovered living in deplorable conditions beneath an Interstate 5 overpass in Yolo County.
Deputies were alerted to the situation on September 9th following a tip regarding a couple residing with a newborn baby in a makeshift tent. Upon investigation, authorities found the family in a tent littered with what appeared to be drug paraphernalia, including multiple pipes for smoking methamphetamine. The squalid environment also contained accumulated trash, rotten food, vomit on a mattress, and feces within a baby carrier.
The mother's placenta and umbilical cord were reportedly found discarded in a trash bag. According to the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, the parents, identified as Melissa Rivera, 29, and Fernando Esparza Guzman, 48, admitted to being aware of the risks to their newborn and stated they had intended to take the infant to a hospital at a later time.
Emergency medical personnel transported the infant to Woodland Memorial Hospital before transferring the child to a neonatal intensive care unit in Sacramento County. The child is currently under protective custody. Rivera and Guzman have both been charged with child abuse under conditions likely to cause serious hardship or death. Guzman faces an additional charge for possessing a device used for drug consumption.
The couple were arraigned on September 16th and subsequently released. Court records indicate Rivera also pleaded not guilty to a separate battery charge from earlier this year during her arraignment. Their next court appearance for the child endangerment case is scheduled for October 13th.
