A Chimayó woman was arrested June 29 after allegedly taking her baby out in the rain in nothing but a diaper and falling down an embankment while drunk and holding the baby.
Renee Quintana, 23, was charged with child abuse, assault on a household member, battery on a household member, disorderly conduct, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, battery on a peace officer and two counts of assault on a peace officer in connection with the incident. She bonded out of Santa Fe County Jail July 6 after posting $1,500.
Court documents tell the following story.
The incident began when Quintana got into an argument with her mother-in-law over Quintana driving with her 1-month-old baby while she was drunk. Quintana then struck her husband in the head with an unknown object, causing a laceration above his right eye, after he became upset she had been driving drunk.
She then grabbed the baby and left the house on foot.
Quintana’s mother-in-law pleaded with her to leave the baby at home since she was drunk and going out in the rain and threatened to call police. Quintana refused to stay and State Police were called.
State Police officer William Terrazas at first wasn’t able to locate Quintana on Rio Arriba County Road 84 but then heard screaming and found Quintana and the baby lying at the bottom of a steep embankment. Quintana said she couldn’t get up.
Terrazas found the mother and child soaking wet and the baby was also crying. He called for backup and put the baby in the patrol car before an ambulance came to transport her to be checked out.
Meanwhile, Quintana said she got in a fight with her mother-in-law and was walking to a neighbor’s house to use the phone. The neighbor wasn’t home, so she kept walking and fell into an embankment. As police attempted to handcuff Quintana, she struggled, kicked her legs, and tried to bite another officer’s hand. She was warned that if she continued to struggle she would be stun with a Taser, but allegedly responded, “You (expletives) are not worth a (expletive), I’ll (expletive) you up,” before taunting them to Taser her so she could sue them.
Quintana tried to kick out the patrol car’s windows during the drive to the police station, so Terrazas stopped to shackle her feet. Quintana then allegedly kicked him and tried to headbutt him. Finally she was stun with a Taser on the leg and agreed to cooperate, although she then threatened she would burn down Terrazas’ house.
Quintana’s daughter was uninjured and cleared by the state Children, Youth and Families Department to be released to Quintana’s husband.
Quintana also has an pending aggravated DUI charge in state District Court in Santa Fe from February of this year, according to an online court records database.