Arrest warrant for Angel Arellano and Leilah Hastings

[s-208, 6-204, ] -204, 8-203 1

STATE OF NEW MEXICOCOUNTY OF SAN JUANIN TFIE MAGISTRA'|E COURT

STATE OF NEW MEXICPlaintitl

vs.

Angel M. ArellanoDOB: 03/08/1990SOC: 614-38-0459

Defendant

N,'if\ .{',k?tL + Nb'il lv'

StP .s 7 Lutt

WARRANT

has reason to believe that on or aboutthe above-named def-endant did commit

P

Ii

AFFIDAVTT FOR ARREST

Affiant, being duly sworn, on her oath, states that sheSeptember 18th, 2013, in San Juan County, New Mexico,the crime(s):

. Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm (placed in a dangerous situation) or(tortured, cruelly confined or cruelly punished)

The undersigned further states the following facts on oath to establish probable cause to believethat the above-named defendant committed the crime charged:

I am Heather Chavez, a certified and commissioned peace officer, employed by the FarmingtonPolice Department, currently assigned to the Detective Division. I have been a law enforcementofficer in New Mexico for over twelve years. I have received special training in and haveexperience investigating felony and misdemeanor crimes, inch-rding classroom instmction andfield experience. I am the affiant herein. I learned the fbllowing facts fiom the sollrces notedbelow and the investigation described:

An0912012013, I was contacted by Offrcer Joe Russom with the Farmington Police Departmentregarding a report of Child Abuse. He told me that he was dispatched to the Children Youth andFamilies Division regarding a chilcl named lzakia Davis (DOB 0411812012). 'Ihe prelirninaryinfbrmation he received rvas that lzakia was currently in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the[-lniversity of New Mexico Flospital in z\lbuqLrerque. New N,lexico.

He was advised by CYFD Investigator Shauna Samora that Izakia r,r,,as suflering from a skullIracture and other bone fractures, sonle of which were determined to be olcler because theyappeared to be healing themselves. At this point I assumed the investigation and spoke withInvestigator Samora fbr additional infbrmation and background.

lnvestigator Samora told me that Izakia was in the custody of his biological mother in LasCruces, New Mexico. She said that the state removed lzakia fiom the custocly of his mother in

February of 2013 and placed him with his biological tather, Angel Arellano. Arellano was livingat 1500 Oriole in Farmington, Nerv Mexico rvith his current girlfiiencl, Leilah Hastings.

Investigator Samora stated that her otflce became involved with Izakia in May of 2013 'uvhen

their otlice received its first complaint ( l3-21 595). At that time, Izakia rvas fbund unresponsive

inthelromeandtranspbffinhlMec1icalCenter,,uvherehewasultirnatelyflown to UNMH's Pediatric Unit. During that investigation it r,vas determined that Izakiasutlered from a lack of oxygen. The doctors acivised it could have been due to suffocation, butcould not definitively attribute it to that. As a result of this incident Izakia was left needing a

feeding tube, paralyzed and blind. Because of this incident, the local CYFD ofl-rce begancondtrcting regular home visits with lzakia, up to two times per week.

On 0911712013, during one of these regular home visits, Investigator Samora said that Izakiadidn't look normal to her and advised Hastings that she needed to get him to the hospital to be

checked. Investigator Samora said that Arellano was not home during this visit. Hastingsadvised that she would take care of him. Investigator Samora also told her that she could contactthe on call physician who could also assist her.

On 09/l Sl20l3,lnvestigator Samora contacted Hastings again to find out the status of Izakia.Hastings told her that she called the on call physician about lzakia but they never returned hercall. She also said that lzakia was doing better. Investigator Samora did follow up with the oncall physician and learned that Hastings never contacted them, nor did she bring Izakia in. Atthis point Investigator Samora was very concerned about Izakia's wellbeing and knew that hewas scheduled for an eye appointment with the School of the Blind in Albuquerque, NM for laterthat day. She contacted Susan Spanky with the School of the Blind and advised her aboutIzakia's condition and requested that she check him.

Spanky checked on Izakia upon his arrival with his father, Arellano. She said that Izakiaappeared to be in "Horrible" condition and told Arellano that he needed to take him to thehospital. Arellano refused and became irate with her stating that every time he took Izakia to thehospital, staff would admit him. Spanky called 9l I and officers and an ambulance arrived.Arellano continued to be uncooperative and somewhat hostile, though he was not taken intocustody. lzakia was transported to UNMH by arnbulance and admitted to the Pediatric IntensiveCare Unit.

I contacted Jocelyn Ruebel with UNMH PICTJ who told me that the Child Abuse Response

Team was contacted regarding Izakia. She r.vas able to provide me some prelirninary informationon lzakia's condition, but said she would have either Dr. Strickler or Dr. Miller contact me, bothof whom rvere working on lzakia. Ruebel stated that Izakia had a skull fiacture, massive fluid onthe brain, multiple broken bones and he was on a ventilator as he was unable to breathe on hisown. She stated that some of- the liactures appeared to be olcler ones as it looked as though theywere in the healing stages. I asked her if pictures were taken of lzakia and she said that none ofhis injuries were external, they r.vere all internal.

I was contaoted by Dr. Strickler with UNMII's Child Abuse Response Team. She told me that

lzakia had a skull fracture which could only be attributed to C'hild Abuse as Izakia is not mobile.

As far as the other fractures that were described to me she said that the X-rays showed

abnormalities in his right arm, lower left leg and his right foot. She explained that due toIzakia's prior brain injury fiom May, it made his bones very weak and therefore more prone tobone breaks. At this point she could not say that the abnormalities were due to abuse. I asked ifthe fluid on lzakia's brain was because of the skull fiacture and she said no.

Dr. Strickler said that because of his brain injury, his brain was shriveling. When that happens

fluid is produced in the skull to take up the space. I asked if the fluid itself could cause a skullfracture, especially since Izakia had weak bones and she said no. The only reason for his skullfracture was due to some type of trauma. She wanted to get some type of history from Arellanoor Hastings, but she was not able to reach either of them. She told me that she was going toorder a bone scan for Izakia and could hopefully provide me more information, but the scanprobably would not occur until the next week.

I asked her what lzakia's prognosis was regarding his fracture. She told me that an ethics boardwas going to be called for Izakia. She explained that the fluid on his brain was making his head

swell and the only way to deal with that would be a surgery to place a shunt. In Izakia's case,

the fluid on his brain contained a lot of protein which would potentially block the shunt and

prevent it from working. She stated that the Neurosurgeons didn't want to do the surgerybecause the risks to his life were not worth the benefits. It was her opinion thatlzakia' s life spanwas severely limited due to his brain injury from May.

I attempted to contact Hastings to conduct an interview with her. I went to the residence at 1500

Oriole and found no one there. I noticed a note closed in the door and it looked to be weatheredas if the door hadn't been opened. I've not been able to contact Hastings or Arellano to obtainstatements.

On0912412013, an Ethics Panel was conducted at LfNMH Pediatric Unit regarding Izakia. As aresult of the Ethics Panel it was decided that there was nothing medically left to do for lzakia'scare. Izakia was showing no stable brainstem function. This decision was also dependent upon areview with CYFD attorneys, the family's attorneys and the ad litem for CYFD.

On 0912512013, I attended the meeting at CYFD regarding lzakia. A teleconference was heldwith Dr. Hadeid (unsure of spelling) who was the primary attending physician to lzakia. Again,it was his opinion that there was nothing more medically that could be done for Izakia. At theconclusion of the conference, it was decided to get a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order in placefor him and to remove his vent tube and allow nature to take its course. The doctor stated that he

felt it should be done within the next 24 hours for the sake of lzakia.

At the conclusion of this meeting I spoke with Investigator Shauna Samora and Valery Darwinmore in depth about this case and they also had additional medical records to provide me. One

of these reports was the completed CART Exam (Child Abuse Response Team) report, Thefollowing pertinent information is transcribed from the report which was drafted by Dr. LeslieStrickler:

ASSESSMENT:Izakia is a l7-month-old mcrle vvith a past meclical history of unexplained cardiac arcest at l2months of age tvith resultant devastating neurologic injtry who presented to care with increasedmacrocephaly and decreased mental status. Imaging studies performed fo evaluate this changerevealed bilateral subdural fluid collections and incidentally noted a left parietal skull fracture.Additional radiographic studies have revealetl numerous additional abnormalities in the bonyskeleton including corner metaphyseal fracture of the left tibia, and fractures in the right foot.Although this child does have osteopenia consistent with his neurologic condition, his non-mobile status and lack of any explanatory history for any fracture, particularly the skull fracture,are not typical /indings in children with his condition. It is my impression based on clinicalexperience snd medical literature review, that the number offractures, type of fractures, child'snon-mobile status, and lack of traumatic explanation for injuries make abusive etiologl,t the mostlikely explanation of lzakia's fractures. Should he be returned to an environment in which hecannot be protected hi is at riskfor ongoing injury.

CYFD Investigator Samora also advised me that both Arellano and Hastings both attended 48hours of home care training for Izakia separately, as they were both responsible for his care andneeds, especially the fact that Izakia was fed through a feeding tube. This training wasconducted at Carrie Tingley Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. According to the CART reportArellano denied that anyone other than Hastings and himself watch and care for lzakia. There isonly very rare occasion that Hastings sister will watch lzakia. Arellano also stated, in this report,that he and Hastings attended parenting classes and do stretching exercises with lzakia, whichthey leamed at Carrie Tingley,

Based on this most recent report from UNMH's CART it shows thatlzakia's multiple fracturescan be attributed to physical abuse. it is known that he was in the primary care of his biologicalfather, Angel Arellano and Arellano's fiancd, Leilah Hastings. As both Arellano and Hastingswere trained to care for Izakia and were with him and caring for him, one or both should havenoticed the changes in Izakia and being fully aware of his medical condition and needs, shouldhave sought help from the local hospital, but failed to do so.

On 0912612013, Detective Badoni and I travelled to UNMH's Pediatric Unit in an attempt tocontact Arellano and Hastings, as they would not answer my phone calls. At the hospital we metwith AlbuquerqLle Police Department Detectives Caryn Romero and Terra Juarcz. There we metwith Jocelyn Ruebel with the CART team. Ruebel provided me the most current CART reportfor lzakia, which contained the same assessment regarding his injuries. Ruebel took us to thepediatric floor where lzakia was and there I met with Kristin Mihalik, the social worker/casemanager.

Mihalik told me that they hadn't received the DNR orders for lzakia, but was expecting them tobe completed later that day and anticipated that lzakia's breathing tube would be removed thefollowing day. I explained to her that I needed to make contact with both Arellano and Hastingsto obtain statements from them regarding Izakia's condition. Arellano was expected to arrive atthe hospital to sign some documents, but was unable to due to not having transportation. Mihalikgave me Arellano's most current address. She advised that he was staying at Intowne Suitesroom #l 19 located at 4676 Commerce Dr, Albuquerque, NM.

:

I made arrangements with the Albuquerque Detectives to make contact with Arellano and

Hastings at their motel. They also made amangements to have a marked Albuquerque PoliceOfficer meet with us there. Upon our arrival I saw Arellano and Hastings walking outside of the

motel and this is where we made contact with them.

I introduced myself to Arellano and Hastings and explained that I needed to speak with themabout lzakia. Arellano said that he would speak to me when he had the opportunity to talk to hisattorney. As I spoke with Arellano, Det. Romero spoke to Hastings and she too requested anattorney. Prior to leaving I gave Arellano a business card and tried to obtain additional contactinformation from him.

During my contact with Arellano and Hastings, both appeared to be in good spirits, smiling andfriendly. They showed no emotion when I spoke of Izakia.

During this investigation, both Arellano and Hastings have shown resistance when it came toIzakia's wellbeing. First when Hastings stated to CYFD Investigator Samora on 0911712013,

that she would contact a doctor for Izakia. When Investigator Samora followed up with Hastingsand the on-call doctor, she found that Hasting's lied to her about getting in touch with a doctor.Second when Arellano took Izakia to his appointment at the School of the Blind and he refusedto take lzakia to the hospital at their request because of their concerns about his current medicalneeds. Arellano became irate and refused to take lzakia to the hospital. Ultimately, Izakia was

transported to UNMH by ambulance, but at the request of an employee, not Arellano.

WHEREFORE, your affiant respectfully requests that an arrest warrant be issued for the above-named defendant for the crime of: . Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm(placed in a dangerous situation) or (tortured, cruelly confined or cruelly punished)

Police DetectiveOfficial Title

Heather Chavez R614Name of Affiant

Signature bf Affi

y District Attorney'tocl,,1

APPROVED:5

PayorRyan

OFFIClAL REGEIPTSTATE OF NEW MEXICO

SAN JUAN COUNTY MAGISTRATE COURT DIV II, III & V950 West Apache StreetFarmington, NM 87401

Copy FeesSUBTOTAL

Receipt No.

FARM-2013-5121

Transaction Date10t1t2013

2.50

JudgeNone Assigned

Miscellaneous Payment

CashierStation FARMl

PAYMENT TOTAL

Cash TenderedTotal Tendered

Change

Audit12979701

3.003.000.50

10to11201301:37 PM

OFFICIAL RECEIPT