Abandoned Newborn’s Mother Arrested
The mother of a baby girl found abandoned in the bed of a pickup truck Saturday night was arrested Tuesday afternoon at her home in National City on suspicion of child abandonment, police said.
Adrianna Avila, a 23-year-old maid, was arrested at her residence on Melrose Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, three days after police found the infant, dubbed baby Joy, in the parking lot of the Plaza Bonita shopping center, officer Chris Williams of the National City Police Department said.
Police arrested Avila after blood tests and birth records identified her as the mother of the baby, who had been born Friday at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, Williams said.
Avila told police she wanted to give the infant a better life by giving it up, Williams said.
Avila faces up to six years in prison if she is convicted of abandonment. The baby remains in care of the Department of Social Services, Williams said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
