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Clare Margaret Meacham, a 23-year-old Arizona mother, was arrested on Thursday, October 27, 2022, on suspicion of abandoning her newborn at home for hours to go out drinking. Meacham was apprehended after police reacted to reports of a drunk driver.
Police received reports of a probable drunk driver at about 2:20 p.m. on Thursday. When they arrived and found an inebriated Meacham, she admitted to leaving her five-month-old infant at home alone.
Officers arrived at her home to find a wailing newborn who had been left alone for more than two hours, according to court documents obtained by CBS 5. The child was found unharmed by the officers.
Clare Margaret Meacham was immediately arrested for driving under influence (DUI) and child abuse by Maricopa County police officers.
Doorbell camera footage reveals that Clare Margaret Meacham left her baby alone in the house for hours, faces child abuse charges
Clare Margaret Meacham, 23, was arrested for drunk driving after an afternoon drinking party ended in handcuffs. When cops stopped and detained her at Gilbert and Baseline roads, she told them she had a baby at home who was left alone and unsupervised.
According to court filings, when officers arrived at her East Mesa home near the Signal Butte and Ray roads, they could hear the infant's desperate cries from within. The Department of Child Safety was called and the five-month-old child was rescued by the officers.
Police reviewed Meacham's house doorbell camera footage and discovered that she had left at 12:44 p.m., leaving her toddler alone for more than two hours. The only thing the young mother remembered was putting her infant in the baby crib.
According to records, Clare Margaret Meacham lives alone with her newborn, and the only other person who has access to her home is her mother. She had forgotten to ask someone to monitor her child while she was gone on Thursday afternoon.
Maricopa County police officers found the infant unharmed and waited until a family member decided to take custody of the five-month-old. Meacham is currently facing DUI and child abuse charges as a result of her careless behavior.
