Former Tucson TV crime reporter Som Lisaius and his wife both got one year probation and a suspended sentences of 30-day jail sentence at their sentencing this morning for child abuse.
He also was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. His wife, a former reporter at a Tucson news station, was given 20 hours of community service.
The pair each pleaded guilty to a charge of endangerment.
The case stems from a May 15 incident in which the couple brought their then-4-month-old daughter to Oro Valley Hospital after the baby wouldn’t wake up and her eyes rolled back, records from the Oro Valley Police Department show.
The Lisaiuses admitted using cocaine at their home in the day before the baby was hospitalized, according to police reports released under a records request by the Arizona Daily Star. Krystin Lisaius told police she breast-fed the baby the following morning, but did not think the baby would be affected 12 hours after she used cocaine, the reports said.
Detectives later found about 1.8 grams of cocaine in a desk drawer at the Lisaiuses’ house, as well as white residue on a Safeway Club Card in the name of Krystin Sorich, her maiden name, and a rolled-up dollar bill inside a Tiffany jewelry box.
The baby tested positive for cocaine as did Som, who at the time was a reporter covering local crime at KOLD News 13, and his wife, Krystin, who worked at KGUN Channel 9 two years ago, also as a reporter.
When detectives arrived at the hospital, the baby’s condition was listed as good and she was expected to recover completely, the police report stated.
