Another Strange Turn: LBPD Has Now Learned Newborn Wasn't Abandoned At 7th/Alamitos, Says It Appears Birth Mother Said She Was Unable To Care For Child & Gave It To Her Mom, Who Claimed She Found It Abandoned

PD says birth mother & her mom may now face charges

LBPD Public Information Office Sgt. Rico Fernandez says police have learned that a newborn child, who officers were initially told was found by a passerby abandoned at a gas station in the area of 7th St./Alamitos Ave., wasn't abandoned or found by a passerby. Sgt. Fernandez says it now appears that the birth-mother allegedly indicated she couldn't care for the child and gave it to her mother...and the "passerby" who told police she'd found the newborn abandoned at a gas station was the birth-mother's mother.

By late last night, LBPD had put most of the pieces in this high visibility, fast-breaking story together. Shortly after midnight, LBPD issued an update stating that at approximately 10:45 p.m. (Feb. 20), officers identified a 28-year-old Long Beach resident as the mother of a baby initially believed by police to have been abandoned at a gas station in the area of 7th St./Alamitos Ave. "It appears that the baby was never abandoned at the gas station, but instead given to the person that called 9-1-1 originally, and the newborn female was only a few hours old at the time," said LBPD Public Information Officer Lisa Massacani in a statement.

At midmorning we learned the rest of the story: the passerby was/is the birth-mother's mother.

The newborn was immediately taken to a hospital and reported at that time to be in stable condition.

Sgt. Fernandez says both the birth-mother and her mother may now face charges over all this.

As we indicated in our initial report, L.A. County has a "Safe Surrender" program regarding newborns: "No shame, no blame, no names. Newborns can be safely given up at any Los Angeles County hospital emergency room or fire station." For information on this, click here.

The events drew a swift and intense LBPD response as they unfolded last night and LBReport.com and L.A. media outlets reported the story. (BelmontShore.Patch.com was first, citing LBPD's initial report, followed a few minutes later by LBReport.com).