Silke Jasso
Heather Ace lost both of her 2-year-old sons last May when a fire ripped through their Batavia, N.Y., home. Ace’s children, Michael and Micah Gard, were in a bedroom on the first floor when the fire broke out some time around 10 p.m. Though the cause of the fire is still undetermined, Ace’s reason for not being home with her boys has landed her in jail.
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According to NewYorkUpstate.com, the mother admitted to authorities in October that she left the toddlers at home to “go buy Four Loko [an alcoholic energy drink] and $10 worth of marijuana.” After further investigation, she was charged with two counts of child endangerment and, in February, she plead guilty to one of those charges.
WIVB reported that the sentencing judge stated on Monday that, though he has seen many child endangerment cases, this is the most tragic. The 24-year-old mother, who also has a 6-year-old son, received one year in prison — the maximum sentence for a child endangerment charge in New York. Thankfully, her other son was not injured in the fire.
The district attorney’s office requested jail time, since Ace has continuously changed her story. At first, she said that she went out to pick up diapers but admitted later that she was buying alcohol and marijuana. The prosecutor did say that she believes Ace is “remorseful” for what happened to her sons but explained that “there is no sentence that will bring back these children.” Officials made it clear that they do not suspect the mother of being responsible for the fire, instead pointing to her negligence in leaving her children home alone.
