By: Alex Evans
DULUTH, Minn. – Police find an infant under the Lake Avenue viaduct crying among empty alcohol bottles, two passed-out adults, and a man who officers say was also intoxicated.
Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Duluth Police reportedly found a crying baby, empty alcohol bottles, a hypodermic needle, and three adults, two of whom were passed out, underneath the Lake Avenue viaduct in Canal Park. One of the passed-out individuals, Lasha Lynn Anderson, 30, is the infant’s mother and has been charged in relation to the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, an officer was on a routine patrol near 1 Place Lake Drive when they heard a child crying. The officer went to investigate, and as “she walked under the viaduct [she] saw a group of four people sheltering in an alcove.” The only adult awake with the baby was a man that the officer recognized “as a person that officers routinely see intoxicated.”
The man picked up the child, who had been on the ground next to him, and told the officer that he was watching the child while the mother, Anderson, was sleeping. The officer noted that the man “was slurring his words and had an open bottle of alcohol in front of him.” There were also reportedly “multiple hard alcohol containers and a hypodermic needle” scattered around the group.
Anderson did not initially respond to the officer’s attempt to wake her up, but did after “several minutes.” When she identified herself as the child’s mother, the officer noted that she had “watery eyes, smelled strongly of alcohol, and slurred her words.”
When other officers arrived at the scene, they could not find diapers or clothes for the baby besides the onesie she was wearing. The baby appeared hungry and when they asked Anderson if she had any, Anderson told the officers that she breastfeeds. When officers advised her not to breastfeed while she’s intoxicated, Anderson said that usually, “She fed her child whole milk and goldfish.” According to the complaint, she told officers that she did not have a place to bring the child.
Anderson allegedly attempted to run from officers but only got a short distance before “she tripped on landscape rocks and was apprehended.” Officers had to carry her to a squad car, where she used her feet to push against the officers and the car door. According to the complaint, a preliminary breath test was administered, and recorded Anderson’s blood alcohol content (BAC) at a 0.172.
The prosecutor wrote in their recommendation for bail that they “hope that [Anderson] can attend treatment as her case proceeds to trial,” and recommended a chemical use assessment prior to release.
Anderson is charged with two gross misdemeanors for child neglect and obstruction, and one misdemeanor for fleeing police on foot. She could face a maximum possible sentence of just over 2 years in prison.
The Twin Ports Report 