Inset: Alexis Aguirre (McLennan County Sheriff's Office). Background: An apartment complex where Aguirre allegedly resisted arrest in Waco, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas woman was recently arrested after using her own child to shield herself from police while being questioned about a prior child abuse incident, Lone Star State law enforcement allege.
Alexis Aguirre, 27, stands accused of first-degree injury to a child, state jail felony endangering a child, and misdemeanor resisting arrest, according to the Waco Police Department.
The underlying incident occurred on Sept. 13 at an apartment complex on South 12th Street in Waco, police said.
On the day in question, an officer was dispatched to another apartment in response to a child abuse report, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Waco-based CBS and Telemundo KWTX.
There, the victim's mother said they were visiting Aguirre at her residence when an argument started, according to law enforcement.
During the altercation, things turned violent as the defendant put the child in a chokehold and lifted the child off the ground, police said.
At the victim's mother's apartment, the officer noted visible injuries on the child, including minor red marks beneath the child's chin and a cut inner bottom lip with blood that was visible, according to the charging document.
Law enforcement then went to Aguirre's apartment and spoke with her about the incident. The defendant, for her part, said that she wrapped her arms around the child because he was "not listening and causing a ruckus," according to the warrant.
During the interview, several young children were present, police said. The officers, at one point, asked Aguirre if they could speak with her away from the children, but she declined, according to law enforcement.
Then, when the officers moved to take the defendant into custody, Aguirre allegedly grabbed her daughter in her arms and kept the child between herself and the arresting officers, police said.
As the arrest progressed, the defendant resisted and pulled away, all while maintaining her grip on her daughter, according to the warrant.
Eventually, officers forced the woman down onto a couch so as to protect the child as the woman was finally detained.
Due to the method by which Aguirre resisted arrest during the struggle, officers determined she intentionally placed her own child at risk of bodily injury, according to the charging document.
The defendant was arrested and detained in the McLennan County Jail, but has since posted bond.
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