National City
A mother of three who is charged with abandoning her 1-day-old daughter at a shopping mall was ordered released Thursday on her own recognizance to live with her father.
Adriana Virginia Avila, 24, of National City pleaded innocent before San Diego Municipal Judge David Danielsen.
Avila is also charged with endangering the health of the infant, who was found in the bed of a pickup at a South Bay mall Saturday.
According to court records, Avila will live with her father and sisters in Spring Valley and is to have no contact with the infant, who is now in a foster home.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathryn Gayle urged that bail be set at $20,000, saying Avila might be unable to cope with her situation at home with her other two children and husband.
The mother’s husband reportedly did not know of the abandonment, telling authorities that his wife had told him the baby died in the hospital.
Avila reportedly told authorities she abandoned the baby because the family could not afford a third child.
Gayle said Avila was also ordered not to have any unsupervised visits with her other children.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 30.
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