A Mammoth Lakes woman — who was charged with child abuse for allegedly abandoning her 6-year-old child for more than 24 hours without food and who was later allegedly found intoxicated — pleaded not guilty to three felony counts at her arraignment Monday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Lauren Paige Tracy — aka Lauren Paige Beall, aka Tracy Lauren Beall, aka Tracy Beall — is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 10 to set a date for her preliminary hearing, Deputy District Attorney Justin Greene told the News-Press.
The complaint against Ms. Tracy, 46, charges her with child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death in connection with the July 23 incident in Santa Barbara County.
Ms. Tracy also is charged with possession of a firearm with a prior misdemeanor conviction — a tan 9mm pistol and a gray and black 9 mm pistol — and with possession of ammunition by a person prohibited from doing so by an injunction, or temporary restraining order or protective order.
The complaint also listed an aggravating factor in that the victim was “particularly vulnerable,” and because her prior convictions as an adult and juvenile delinquent are numerous and of increasing seriousness.
Ms. Tracy is not in custody and was cited to appear in court for her arraignment.
She was arrested by Santa Barbara police in the 1100 block of Cliff Drive on July 23.
Santa Barbara dispatchers had received a phone call about a child being endangered, and police responded to an address in the 800 block of Highland Drive to investigate.
Officers arrived and contacted the reporting party, a babysitter who had arrived at the residence to look after the child, then 5. Police said that when the babysitter arrived, she found the child alone and unattended in the home. The child’s mother was reportedly nowhere to be found.
Officers learned the babysitter had been hired through a childcare website. The babysitter had expected to meet the child’s guardian and was “extremely surprised” to find the minor unattended, police said at the time.
Investigating officers reported that the child had been left alone for more than 24 hours without food.
Detectives subsequently obtained a search warrant and after determining the mother’s location, they found her and she was allegedly intoxicated, police said.
Ms. Tracy was arrested and booked in Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of committing several felonies: child endangerment, possession of undetectable “ghost guns,” unlawful possession of ammunition with a prior misdemeanor conviction, child neglect and criminal storage of a firearm.
email: nhartstein@newspress.com
