Tanya Flordeliz Reyes Gases is escorted by a Corrections officer at the local courthouse on Thursday morning.
A 38-year-old mother is facing a neglect charge after leaving her 18-month-old toddler in a vehicle while gambling at Saipan Vegas Tuesday evening.
Tanya Flordeliz Reyes Gases was charged with one count of child abuse. She appeared before Superior Court Judge Joseph N. Camacho for a bail hearing Thursday morning.
Gases, 38, was represented by Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert, while Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas appeared for the government.
Barcinas said the child abuse charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $2,000 fine. She asked that Gases’ bail be maintained.
Judge Camacho granted the request, imposing a $10,000 cash bail for Gases’ release and remanding her to the custody of the Department of Corrections. She was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. and for arraignment on Sept. 22 at 9 a.m.
A Saipan Vegas security guard called the police after hearing the sound of crying that led him to Gases’ parked vehicle, according to the complaint. The guard told investigators that Gases had parked her car around 6:40 p.m. and entered the casino to gamble. Later, he noticed the toddler crying, with half of the child’s body sticking out of the driver’s side window, and no adults inside the vehicle.
The security guard said this was not the first incident involving Gases. A Club 88 employee also found the toddler alone in the same vehicle on Sunday but did not call the police.
In a voluntary statement to police, Gases said she was homeless and had only $10. She told authorities she went to Saipan Vegas to try to win money to buy food for her child. She said she came out after noticing the security guard watching her vehicle and seeing her child’s head sticking out of the window.
Police summoned medics and the Division of Youth Services-Child Protective Services to check on the toddler.
In a later interview, Gases admitted to investigators that she left her toddler in a vehicle while she gambled at Saipan Vegas. She also admitted leaving her child in a vehicle last week in the Club 88 parking lot, police said.
