A New Mexico man who whipped his teenage stepchildren with an extension cord after catching them playing with his Alexa device is facing prison time.
Lerenzo Legardy, 53, was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison followed by two years probation, according to local Fox affiliate KFOX. In May, a jury convicted Legardy of one count of third-degree child abuse, according to the Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office.
The beating had caused welts on the children’s arms and legs, which were bleeding. Even though the victims were not allowed to testify, prosecutors were able to secure a conviction.
However, their older brother did testify, and his “courageous” account contributed to a conviction and “deliver justice on behalf of his younger siblings,” according to prosecutors.
Jurors returned a guilty verdict in just 20 minutes.
“Our office is committed to ensuring justice is served and allowing victims’ voices to be heard even when they are unable to speak,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Willson said in a statement.
Legardy’s wife, Yvonne Legardy, was also charged with child abuse, but her cases were dismissed, according to court records. As Law&Crime previously reported, she was arrested twice in one week in July 2024 for child abuse.
KFOX reported that the initial incident occurred on May 31, 2024. According to the probable cause affidavit obtained by the station, Yvonne Legardy’s 14-year-old son fled his home and sought assistance at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library. The boy allegedly claimed that his mother beat him with the handle of a blue metal mop.
Officers from the Las Cruces Police Department responded to the scene and spoke with the boy, who claimed his brother beat him for failing to “properly” clean up their backyard. Police reported that the child had visible injuries, including welts on his body that appeared to match the diameter of the mop handle.
Police then went to the Legardy residence in the 1700 block of Webster Avenue, where she claimed her son had lied about their violent encounter. Instead, Yvonne Legardy reportedly told police that she was searching her son for “contraband” when he abruptly fled.
However, officers at the home reported finding a blue metal mop in the garage that had been visibly damaged in a manner consistent with the child’s description of the beating.
While investigating the initial allegations against her, they reportedly learnt of a disturbing incident that began with her discovering a single vaping device and ended with her pepper-spraying several of her children.
According to court documents, on May 11, 2024, Yvonne Legardy discovered a vaping device at her home, which she believed belonged to one of her children.
When she could not figure out which child brought the vape home, she allegedly took two of the kids into the backyard and forced them to chain smoke cigarettes until they vomited.
According to court documents, Legardy became enraged by the kids’ throwing up and responded by pulling out a can of Mace and pepper spraying them both. In fact, authorities claimed in court documents that Legardy had previously used pepper spray on her children several times.
In November, prosecutors dropped her cases, according to court records.
