Tied-up toddler with plastic bag over head rescued from burning home, mom arrested
12/02/2019 5:18 pm PST
By Tracy Bloom, KTLA
SANTA PAULA, Calif. (KTLA) -- A woman was arrested after allegedly putting a plastic bag over her 3-year-old son's head and tying him up as their Santa Paula home burned over the weekend, police said Monday.
Firefighters initially found the woman tied to a bed when they responded to a structure fire at a home on Bahia Circle about 6:10 p.m. Sunday, according to the Santa Paula Police Department.
While extinguishing the blaze in the downstairs living room, crews discovered the toddler alone in another bedroom. The boy had a plastic bag over his head and his hands were bound, a police news release stated.
Firefighters rescued the mother and child, and transported both to a local hospital where they received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Police interviewed the woman, 47-year-old Maricela Magana Ruiz, and then arrested her. They determined Ruiz had placed the bag over the child's head and tied his hands before situating him in the bedroom by himself, according to the release.
She was booked on suspicion of felony child endangerment and is being held at the Ventura County Jail on $50,000 bail.
