Angelina Herrera was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly leaving her two toddlers home alone in Poteet so she could drive to San Antonio to visit her boyfriend, according to police. She now faces two counts of abandoning or endangering a child and a charge of possession of a controlled substance, stemming from a chain of events that began with a tip about the unattended toddlers and ended with a highway drug arrest as she drove back toward Poteet.
Poteet police responded to Herrera's residence on Tuesday after receiving an anonymous tip that the toddlers had been left unattended, according to WOAI. Officers got no answer at the door, and additional callers told dispatch that Herrera was driving back toward the home even as police waited outside. A family member eventually arrived and let officers into the house, where they confirmed both toddlers were unharmed — one awake, the other still asleep.
Highway Traffic Stop Leads to Separate Narcotics Charge
The drug charge against Herrera stems from a separate incident that unfolded on the highway. Atascosa County Sheriff's deputies pulled her vehicle over for speeding as she headed back toward Poteet from San Antonio, according to KENS 5. Deputies took her into custody on the narcotics charge during that stop, meaning she was already under arrest before Poteet officers ever gained entry to her home.
What Texas Law Says About the Charges
Under Section 22.041 of the Texas Penal Code, abandoning a child younger than 15 with the intent to return is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years and a fine of up to $10,000, while abandonment without intent to return escalates to a third-degree felony carrying two to 10 years in prison, according to FindLaw. The drug charge Herrera faces falls under Section 481.116 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, which covers Penalty Group 2 substances such as MDMA, PCP and concentrated THC extracts; per FindLaw, the offense ranges from a state jail felony for amounts under a gram up to a second-degree felony for four to 400 grams.
No Set Age Limit, But Neglect Standards Still Apply
Texas does not set a statutory minimum age for leaving a child home alone. Instead, the state evaluates neglectful supervision case by case, weighing a child's age and maturity, home safety hazards, and whether the child could respond to an emergency, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. That same agency has been barred from taking anonymous abuse or neglect reports since a 2023 legislative change, per its intake guidelines — which helps explain why the tip about Herrera's toddlers appears to have gone straight to local police dispatch rather than the state hotline.
Under Texas Family Code Section 261.001, neglect includes placing a child in a situation that requires judgment or action beyond that child's maturity or physical ability, creating an immediate danger of harm, according to the State of Texas Law Library. Neglectful supervision is consistently the most common child-safety allegation reported statewide, accounting for more than 190,000 reports a year and over half of all Texas CPS investigations, according to KIII-TV.
Poteet's Distance From San Antonio
Poteet sits about 25 miles south of San Antonio, according to the station's report, though the U.S. Census Bureau puts the distance closer to 30 miles. The town — known regionally by its nickname, the Strawberry Capital of Texas — recorded a population of 2,795 in the 2020 Census, while neighboring Atascosa County, which borders Bexar County to the south, had an estimated 53,590 residents in 2025, according to USAFacts.
Unanswered Questions Remain
Several details remain unclear. Authorities have not specified which Penalty Group 2 substance or how much was found in Herrera's vehicle — a distinction that determines whether her drug charge is a state jail felony or a more serious second-degree felony. It's also not yet known whether Herrera has been granted bail at the Atascosa County Jail, the exact ages of her toddlers, or whether the state's child welfare agency has opened a parallel investigation into the family.
