Salinas mother sentenced to 3 years for child abuse

A Salinas mother has been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for committing child abuse and making criminal threats.

She is identified as 40-year-old Patricia Guajardo of Salinas.

On November 7, 2016, Salinas Officers and CPS personnel responded to the Adams Motel in Salinas, regarding a report of a 9-month-old child, John Doe 1, who was suffering from burns to his neck and foot.

Upon arriving on scene, John Doe 1’s mother, Patricia Guajardo, showed officers a child who Guajardo claimed to be John Doe 1. The child shown to offers did not have any injuries, and officers were not able to corroborate any child abuse allegations at that time.

However, on November 10, 2016, an anonymous source reported another child had been shown to the officers, in place of John Doe 1. Salinas Police Department officers responded to Guajardo’s apartment at the Adams Motel on November 10, 2016. Upon arriving, they saw John Doe 1 with a burn mark on the back of his neck and a burn mark on his left foot. The officers also noticed that the apartment was in an unsanitary and filthy condition.

Digital Forensic Investigator Natalie Dill conducted a forensic search of Patricia Guajardo’s phone which revealed that Guajardo had communicated with her sister in order to show the police her sister’s child instead of her own child, John Doe 1. Additionally, District Attorney Investigator Minnig discovered John Doe 1’s hair tested positive for the presence of controlled substances, indicating that he had been in the presence of narcotics or in the presence of individuals as they consumed narcotics.

Patricia Guajardo admitted to a detective that she uses cocaine daily. Guajardo also admitted she devised the plan to show officers her sister’s son, instead of her own son John Doe 1, so that the officers would not see John Doe 1’s injuries. Patricia Guajardo also admitted that she threatened her roommate, stating that she would “kill her” if her roommate reported the baby switch to the police.

The criminal threats charge is considered a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes law. Guajardo admitted that she has a prior prison term.