On July 16, 2018 at approximately 2:36 p.m, Winchester Police (WPD) officers were dispatched to a shopping complex in the 2400 block of South Pleasant Valley Road for a report of a child left in a vehicle. Police located the mother, Taylor Argueta, 27, of Winchester, and arrested her for child endangerment (40.1-103).
A passerby notified police about the child after she heard him crying when she walked past the vehicle, which was not left running. The passerby then opened a door to give the child air and noticed that he was in distress, sweating, and vomiting. Winchester Fire & Rescue transported the child, an 11-month-old male, to the Winchester Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. At the time of the incident, the temperature outside was 88 degrees with a heat index of 97 degrees due to humidity.
Officers searched the stores in the plaza and located Argueta shopping with her 7-year-old daughter. She was taken into custody and charged with child endangerment, a class 6 felony.
The Department of Social Services was contacted and both children have been released to the custody of their grandparents.