A woman from Minnesota, 52-year-old Anastasia Vaughn avoided jail time after abandoning her newborn grandson in a ditch. She pleaded guilty to endangering a child, which can cause harm or death. She was apprehended on Oct. 29, 2024, when a driver reported seeing an infant in a ditch, dressed only in a “sweatshirt and sweatpants,” with a woman running away from the scene, per PEOPLE.
The driver quickly rescued the infant, as noted in the affidavit, which mentioned that the temperature was around 50 degrees and it was “windy and rainy.” A deputy from the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office arrived shortly after and searched for Vaughn, who was discovered stumbling barefoot in the woods. She had “bloodshot, watery eyes,” slurred speech, and the smell of booze, says the affidavit.
Efforts to give Vaughn a Breathalyzer test at the scene didn’t work; however, deputies had success when she was taken into custody at the Otter Tail County Detention Facility. The test showed an alcohol level of .229, almost three times the legal limit. Merely two days later, prosecutors filed charges in the Seventh District Judicial Court. The case was set for trial, but Vaughn decided to plead guilty in April.
The woman confessed to drinking “alcoholic beverages that mixed with [her] prescribed medication” on the day of the encounter and confessed to “[putting] [her grandson] down on the ground near the ditch.”
Vaughn’s plea deal reduced her 364-day sentence by 319 days, allowing her to avoid jail, but the judge stayed the sentence for two years. During her probation, she cannot drink alcohol, have unsupervised visits with minors, or skip regular testing.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?