A Minnesota woman avoided jail time after abandoning her infant grandson in a ditch.
Anastasia Vaughn, 52, pleaded guilty to endangering a child in a situation that could result in injury or death. She was arrested on Oct. 29, 2024, after a motorist called to report that an infant “wearing only a sweatshirt and sweatpants” had been left in a ditch by a woman he then saw “running away from the area,” according to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
According to the affidavit, the motorist retrieved the infant right away, despite the fact that “the temperature was in the 50 degree range and it was windy and rainy.”
A deputy from the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office arrived shortly after and began searching for Vaughn, who was discovered “stumbling” barefoot in a wooded area with “bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, and… the odor of alcohol coming from her,” according to the affidavit.
Attempts to administer a Breathalyzer test at the scene were unsuccessful, but deputies had better luck after taking Vaughn into custody at the Otter Tail County Detention Facility. According to the affidavit, the test results showed an alcohol concentration of.229, which is nearly three times the legal limit.
Prosecutors filed charges in the Seventh District Judicial Court two days later, and the case was on its way to trial when Vaughn decided to plead guilty in April.
According to a copy of the plea petition obtained by PEOPLE, Vaughn admitted to drinking “alcoholic beverages mixed with [her] prescribed medication” on the day of the incident and acknowledging that she “put [her grandson] down on the ground near the ditch and left him.”
Her plea was part of a deal with prosecutors that allowed her to avoid serving time by reducing her 364-day sentence to 319 days, but the judge chose to stay that sentence for two years at his sentencing.
That is also the length of Vaughn’s probationary period, so violating her release conditions could land her in jail.
As part of her probationary release, Vaughn is prohibited from consuming alcohol, having unsupervised visits with people under the age of 18, and submitting to regular testing, according to the judge’s warrant.
