Miami police say a Hialeah bartender landed in jail Monday after officers found cocaine residue and drug paraphernalia inside a car where she had been sleeping with a child near Miami’s Civic Center. The child was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for evaluation, and the Florida Department of Children and Families was notified.
Investigators identified the woman as 31-year-old Neisha Puentes. She faces charges of child neglect, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a Miami Police arrest affidavit, as reported by WSVN.
Scene and evidence
Officers responded around 1 p.m. to the area of Northwest 12th Street and Northwest 13th Avenue, near Miami’s Civic Center, after callers reported a woman asleep inside a vehicle, according to the arrest affidavit cited by WSVN.
Police say they found Puentes sleeping in the car, woke her by knocking on the window, and watched as she stepped out to tend to the child. That is when officers spotted what they described as a crack pipe with cocaine residue and several baggies of suspected cocaine on the passenger-side floorboard, the affidavit states.
Miami Fire Rescue responded, and the child was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for evaluation. Investigators told officers that the Department of Children and Families planned to release the child to the grandmother, according to the affidavit. Puentes told officers she had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, the document notes.
Legal stakes
The accusations carry both criminal and child-welfare consequences under Florida law. Possession of cocaine is commonly prosecuted under Florida Statutes, Chapter 893, which treats many controlled-substance possession offenses as felonies that can carry prison terms.
Child neglect and abuse are defined and penalized under Florida Statutes §827.03, which allows enhanced penalties when a child’s health or safety is put at risk.
When the Department of Children and Families is notified in a case like this, it can open protective procedures and arrange safety planning or kinship placement, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families abuse hotline FAQ.
What happens next
Puentes was booked into jail Monday afternoon, and the Miami Police Special Victims Unit was notified as investigators and DCF continue to evaluate the child’s safety. Prosecutors will decide whether to file formal charges. Court records did not immediately list a first appearance.
