Boyfriend Says 'It's Ridiculous,' Grandma Never Meant To Leave The Child Alone
DENVER (CBS4) - An arrest warrant has been issued for the grandmother of a little girl found abandoned in Civic Center Park after the Independence Eve fireworks, but the woman's boyfriend says it's all a misunderstanding.
The woman has been identified as Brenda Lee Gallas, also known as Brenda Lee Littlespottedhorse. She's either 54 or 55 years old.
CBS4 has learned the Denver city attorney is handling the case because police determined it does not rise to a state felony level. Police say the woman violated a city ordinance against wrongs to minors.
CBS4's Lauren DiSpirito caught up with Littlespottedhorse's boyfriend Anthony Cardenas outside the Lakewood where they stay. He says his girlfriend never meant to leave her youngest grandchild alone at Civic Center Park.
"Very big misunderstanding, Brenda loves her grandkids, she would die for her grandkids," said Cardenas, who calls himself the child's step-grandpa.
Denver police found the girl alone in a stroller around 10 p.m. when the fireworks show ended. Nobody called 911 or claimed the girl until the next day.
Cardenas said he was with Littlespottedhorse and the girl that night, teaching her how to sell items to the crowd. When each adult figured out the child was not with the other, he says Littlespottedhorse assumed her daughter, the girl's mother, had come and picked her up.
"It's ridiculous because she would not hurt that baby … it was just like a mishap or a mislapse or whatever you call it, because she would not hurt her. She thought she was with me," Cardenas said. "We've got to go pack up and trade our money in and our swords and stuff. And, 'Where's the baby?' 'Well, I don't have the baby, you have the baby, I don't have the baby, Brenda, call the cops.' … 'Well I think Tamera … her mom picked her up.' "
Cardenas also says Littlespottedhorse consumed alcohol that night and may have been tipsy. He says she is afraid and he doesn't know where his girlfriend is.
"That's probably why she's not coming forth on this, because I swear to God that woman would do anything for her grandkids," Cardenas said.
Denver Human Services has said the girl is in their custody, but Cardenas told CBS4 the girl is now with her mother near Denver.
Littlespottedhorse could face up to one year in jail and a nearly $1,000 fine.
