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Lerenzo Legardy (Dona Ana County Jail).
A New Mexico antheral who took an hold cord and whipped his teenage stepchildren aft helium caught them playing with his Alexa instrumentality is headed to prison.
Lerenzo Legardy, 53, was sentenced connected Thursday to 3 years successful situation followed by 2 years probation, according to section Fox affiliate KFOX. A assemblage convicted Legardy successful May connected 1 number of third-degree child abuse successful May, the Doña Ana County District Attorney's Office said.
As a effect of the beating, the kids were bleeding from the welts connected their arms and legs. Prosecutors were inactive capable to unafraid a condemnation contempt the information that the tribunal did not let the victims to testify.
But their older member did instrumentality the basal and his "courageous" relationship helped pb to a condemnation and "deliver justness connected behalf of his younger siblings," prosecutors said.
Jurors took conscionable 20 minutes to travel backmost with a blameworthy verdict.
"Our bureau is committed to ensuring justness beryllium done and letting a victim's dependable beryllium heard adjacent erstwhile they themselves cannot speak," Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Willson said successful a statement.
Legardy's woman Yvonne Legardy was besides facing kid maltreatment charges but her cases were dismissed, according to tribunal records. As Law&Crime previously reported, she was arrested doubly successful 1 week successful July 2024 for maltreatment of a child.
According to a report from KFOX, the archetypal incidental took spot connected May 31, 2024. A probable origin affidavit obtained by the presumption states that Yvonne Legardy's 14-year-old lad fled from his location and went to the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library seeking assistance. The lad reportedly claimed that his parent had beaten him with the grip of a bluish metallic mop.
Officers with the Las Cruces Police Department responded to the country and spoke to the boy, who claimed that his fuss bushed him for failing to "properly" cleanable up their backyard. Police said the kid had disposable injuries which included welts connected his assemblage that appeared to lucifer the diameter of the mop handle.
Police past went to the Legardy location successful the 1700 artifact of Webster Avenue wherever she claimed her lad lied astir their convulsive encounter. Instead, Yvonne Legardy reportedly told constabulary that she was attempting to hunt her lad for "contraband" erstwhile helium abruptly ran off. However, officers astatine the location besides said they observed a bluish metallic mop successful the store that was visibly damaged successful a mode accordant with the beating described by the child.
As investigators were looking into the archetypal allegations levied against her, they reportedly learned astir a disturbing incidental that began with her discovering a azygous vaping instrumentality and yet ended with her pepper-spraying respective of her children.
Court documents reportedly authorities that connected May 11, 2024, Yvonne Legardy recovered a vaping instrumentality astatine her location that she believed belonged to 1 of her children. When she was incapable to find which kid brought the vape home, she allegedly took 2 of the kids into the backyard wherever she forced them to concatenation fume cigarettes until they threw up.
According to tribunal documents, Legardy reportedly became aggravated astir the kids throwing up and responded by pulling retired her tin of Mace and capsicum spraying them both. In fact, authorities reportedly alleged successful tribunal documents that Legardy has antecedently utilized capsicum spray connected her children aggregate times.
Prosecutors dropped her cases successful November, tribunal records show.
Jerry Lambe contributed to this report
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