The Daily Record
Two parents of the three children who almost drowned May 16 in Cañon City are now in custody on charges of child abuse stemming from the swimming pool accident.
The father of one of the children, Richard Valdez, was arrested late Tuesday night and is being held on suspicion of felonious child abuse connected to the incident. Valdez, 35, was advised of his rights Wednesday afternoon in the courtroom of Magistrate Robert Freeman. Valdez is being held in Fremont County Detention Center in lieu of $30,000 bond.
The mother of the other two children, Nina Davis, was arrested immediately after the near drownings. Davis, 23, is still in custody at FCDC in lieu of $25,000 bond. She is being held on three counts of child abuse acting with criminal negligence and one count of use of a controlled substance, methamphetamine.
Davis also faces revocation of a deferred sentence she received in a previous drug possession case.
The affidavit for Valdez’s arrest said further investigation into the near drowning of the three children, all under the age of 5, showed Valdez was not in the front yard of the home at 215 Stanley Ave., where the accident occurred, as he had originally reported.
Instead, a witness said Valdez was actually in a shower inside his home with Davis at the time the children fell into the pool. According to reports, Valdez and Davis are romantically involved.
Cañon City Police Department Capt. Jim Cox said although Valdez was not originally implicated, the case has been under continual investigation.
“We were always looking into it,” Cox said Wednesday afternoon. “The investigation was not complete. Once Detective Jeff Worley completed the investigation and reviewed the evidence, he applied for the warrant that was signed by Judge Julie Marshall.”
Cox said Valdez was taken into custody at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday night after being found driving in the 800 block of Griffin Avenue.
The investigation into the incident revealed at least one of the children had previously fallen into the pool while unsupervised at the home, and that two of the children walked away from the Valdez home and were several blocks away before they were found. The affidavit for arrest also said the children had often been left unsupervised prior to the May 16 accident.
According to the affidavit, the above-ground swimming pool was approximately 20 feet from the living room of the home and required no climbing for the children to enter. A sliding glass door was the only barrier between the pool and the living room, where the children were reportedly left unsupervised.
The incident eventually had a happy ending after two of the three children were airlifted by Flight for Life to Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. The third child was in better condition when rescuers arrived, and was treated at St. Thomas More Hospital in Cañon City.
All three children have been successfully treated and released without long-term injury, according to the report. Two of the kids are being cared for by the Department of Human Services and the other has been placed with relatives.
Valdez will return to court at 1:30 p.m. June 16 for formal filing of charges.
Davis’ next appearance is at 9 a.m. June 16
