Sonia Hernandez shows the spot at a gas station where she claimed to have found a newborn child Monday night. (KTLA-TV) |
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KTLA) -- A woman accused of lying to police about finding an abandoned newborn at a gas station has been sentenced to three years of probation.
Sonia Hernandez, 52, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of filing a false police report and obstructing police officers in their investigation.
She was also ordered to perform 45 days of community service and re-pay the city of Long Beach for the resources used responding to the hoax.
In February, Hernandez called 911 and reported finding a baby girl at a gas station at E. 7th Street and Alamitos Ave.
Authorities later determined that the child belonged to Hernandez's daughter, 28-year-old Paloma Espinoza.
Espinoza still faces charges of child endangerment and child abandonment.
Investigators believe Espinoza gave the newborn to her mother in order to conceal the birth from her female romantic partner.
She handed off the baby girl to her mother who falsely reported finding the infant, according to police.
Hernandez told reporters a story about how she and her daughter found the newborn -- with the umbilical cord still attached -- wrapped in a blanket inside two plastic bags, lying against a block wall near the water and air pumps.
She said she held and kissed the child as her daughter drove back to her apartment, two blocks away, and called 911.
Police say the entire tale was a hoax and that the baby was never at the gas station, said police Sgt. Rico Fernandez.
"She claims she didn't know she was pregnant. So when she gave birth, she didn't want her partner to know about it, so she delivered the kid to her mom," Fernandez said.
According to Long Beach Detectives, Espinoza "apparently felt unfit to continue to care for the child because she felt she was more interested in protecting her relationship with another woman."
The infant was handed over to the Department of Children and Family Services.
Sonia Hernandez, 52, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of filing a false police report and obstructing police officers in their investigation.
She was also ordered to perform 45 days of community service and re-pay the city of Long Beach for the resources used responding to the hoax.
In February, Hernandez called 911 and reported finding a baby girl at a gas station at E. 7th Street and Alamitos Ave.
Authorities later determined that the child belonged to Hernandez's daughter, 28-year-old Paloma Espinoza.
Espinoza still faces charges of child endangerment and child abandonment.
Investigators believe Espinoza gave the newborn to her mother in order to conceal the birth from her female romantic partner.
She handed off the baby girl to her mother who falsely reported finding the infant, according to police.
Hernandez told reporters a story about how she and her daughter found the newborn -- with the umbilical cord still attached -- wrapped in a blanket inside two plastic bags, lying against a block wall near the water and air pumps.
She said she held and kissed the child as her daughter drove back to her apartment, two blocks away, and called 911.
Police say the entire tale was a hoax and that the baby was never at the gas station, said police Sgt. Rico Fernandez.
"She claims she didn't know she was pregnant. So when she gave birth, she didn't want her partner to know about it, so she delivered the kid to her mom," Fernandez said.
According to Long Beach Detectives, Espinoza "apparently felt unfit to continue to care for the child because she felt she was more interested in protecting her relationship with another woman."
The infant was handed over to the Department of Children and Family Services.
