A Leesburg woman was arrested after leaving a juvenile alone in a home with THC products while she went back to her boyfriend’s house.
An officer responded to UF Health Leesburg Hospital, located at 600 E Dixie Ave., around 1:35 a.m. Friday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. Hospital staff advised that a juvenile in the care of 29-year-old Maribel Katiusca Plaza had been brought for a medical evaluation by a neighbor.
The neighbor explained that at 1 a.m., the juvenile victim came to her residence in a weak, sick and lethargic state. The juvenile victim stated they fell off a bed and started feeling that way. The juvenile victim was “begging” to be taken to the hospital, as there was no one else to take them, the report said.
While at the hospital, the neighbor contacted another one of the juvenile victim’s caretakers via video call. Her family had left for Georgia around 5 p.m. Thursday, leaving the juvenile victim in the sole custody of Plaza. No one else was there, and Plaza was notified of the trip in advance, the report said.
The juvenile victim was asleep for most of the investigation and could only speak for brief periods due to being weak. They stated Plaza left them alone around 8 p.m. and confirmed there was no one else at the residence when she dropped off the juvenile victim. They could not provide any further information that could explain the medical emergency, the report said.
After unsuccessful attempts to call Plaza, law enforcement found her at a different residence on North Oakland Street. She only knew the juvenile victim was at the hospital because officers told her, as she believed they were still home. She ultimately admitted that she dropped off the juvenile victim, completely alone, so she could go back to her boyfriend’s house for the night, the report said.
A subsequent drug screening of the juvenile victim’s urine tested positive for cannabinoid, a common form of THC. When asked how the juvenile victim would have ingested a THC product, Plaza stated she had CBD oil and THC gummies in the home. The oil was left in their shared bathroom cabinet, and the gummies were in the kitchen freezer, the reports aid.
She did not and had never given the juvenile victim any of those products, and they should not know what they were. The juvenile victim denied ingesting any of those products, the report said.
Plaza was arrested on charge of child abuse (neglect) and booked at the Lake County Jail. The Tennessee native was released after posting $5,000 bond.