By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
An Oxnard woman who left her toddler in a car while she worked in Santa Paula and is awaiting trial for felony child endangerment is facing a new charge.
Silvia Serratos allegedly was found with a “shank,” a weapon made from a razor blade and other materials, during a search of her jail cell where she is awaiting trial on charges she left her then 2-year-old son in a parked car all day while outside temperatures climbed to 85 degrees.
It is likely the boy will require total care in a skilled nursing facility for the rest of his life after Serratos allegedly left him inside her locked car while she worked in the 300 block of West Harvard Boulevard on October 14, 2012.
Serratos said she checked on the boy in the vehicle throughout the day. She later took him to an Oxnard hospital when he was unresponsive and after hospital personnel contacted law enforcement area police investigated. Serratos reportedly told Oxnard Police her son had been exposed to the heat while at an Oxnard park. Later, when she said the incident occurred in Santa Paula where the child had been left in a parked vehicle, Oxnard Police turned the case over to the Santa Paula Police Department.
The months-long investigation ended when Serratos, who in the interim gave birth to another child, was arrested April 17, 2013 in Oxnard.
If convicted on the felony child endangerment Serratos could receive a maximum sentence of 12 years and additional time if convicted of possessing a weapon while in custody.
Serratos was booked into Ventura County Jail after her initial arrest on allegations of child abuse causing great bodily injury and remains in custody with bail set at $100,000.
