Warner woman faces child abuse, drug charges

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March 21, 2007

By D. E. Smoot

A Warner woman was charged with child abuse after allegedly allowing her 2-year-old son to wander away from the family’s home.

Amanda Wiggs, 30, faces a second felony charge for allegedly being possession of marijuana when she was booked into the Muskogee County/City Detention Facility.

According to the charging information, Wiggs’ 2-year-old son was found last week near or on Oklahoma 2, a five-lane highway that crosses through Warner.

Assistant District Attorney Nikki Baker Dotson said the child was spotted at about 1:30 p.m. March 14 by a motorist who said she had seen the child wandering alone on at least two other occasions. The motorist who saw the child picked him up and took him to the Department of Human Services office in Warner.

Dotson said the child was left at home alone when he wandered out of the house and made his way to the highway.

“We have evidence that shows she (Wiggs) purposely left the child unattended,” Dotson said. “There was nobody at the home to watch this child.”

The child abuse charge, Dotson said, is based upon allegations that the mother neglected to care for her son by failing to provide adequate supervision.

Dotson said the willful neglect alleged against Wiggs distinguishes this case from a similar situation last week where a 3-year-old child was found wandering the streets of a Muskogee neighborhood in the night. Prosecutors opted not to file charges against the foster parents who were home when the toddler was able to get out of the house and wander more than a block away.

Wiggs was arrested March 14 and charged Monday. She is being held on $25,000 bond in the Muskogee County/City Detention Facility. If convicted, Wiggs faces up to life in prison for the child abuse charge and up to 20 years for the drug charge.

Reach D.E. Smoot at 918-684-2903 or Click Here to Send Email