Foster Mother Should be Charged, Police Say : Child care: La Mesa police say death of baby left in a van was unintentional, but that woman was responsible.

La Mesa police recommended to prosecutors Monday that a foster mother in charge of a baby who died after being left alone in a sealed van on a hot day be charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child endangerment.

On June 30, Mara Jo Grimes arrived at her home in La Mesa with four foster children and two adult relatives in the van. Feeling ill, she went directly inside and assumed that one of the other adults would take the baby. They figured she had the baby, investigators said.

Five-month-old Frankie Martinez, who had Down’s syndrome, died of hyperthermia after being in the car with the windows closed for 3 1/2 hours. Paramedics attempted resuscitation, but the child had no pulse and had stopped breathing. The baby was pronounced dead at Alvarado hospital.

Police did not arrest Grimes, saying it would be pointless because the woman had made a mistake. But, after further investigation by a La Mesa lieutenant, sergeant and detective, it was decided otherwise, said Lt. Michael Wolfe, one of the investigators.

“Mara Grimes was responsible for the supervision of the Martinez child,” he said. “She was responsible for leaving the van unattended and the resulting death. She acted without due caution.”

The district attorney’s office has not yet seen the case and will not decide about charges until at least next week, said Linda Miller, a spokeswoman for the office.

Under state law, conviction on an involuntary manslaughter charge can result in up to four years in state prison. A felony child endangerment conviction can bring up to six years in state prison.

Wolfe said he and the other two officers did not arrive at their decision lightly.

“The thought is that this lady is suffering enough as it is,” he said. “I’m sure she is. But, when we looked at the facts of the case and looked at the guidelines of penal code statutes, we decided the way we did.”

That the woman was a foster mother and not blood-related made no difference.

“Whether it was her own child or one that she was entrusted with as a foster child didn’t matter to us,” Wolfe said. “It was strictly an unintentional act, an accident. A tragic accident. But she had a certain responsibility either way. We interpreted that this met the test of a criminal violation.”

At the time of the baby’s death, the county Children’s Services Bureau removed the three other children from Grimes’ home.