Former Tucson TV crime reporter Som Lisaius and his wife, Krystin, were each sentenced to one year of probation Monday after pleading guilty to child endangerment.
They also were given a suspended 30-day jail sentence at a hearing in Pima County Superior Court. Som Lisaius was ordered to do 100 hours of community service and Krystin Lisaius, a former reporter at a Tucson news station, was ordered to do 20 hours.
In August, they each pleaded guilty to a charge of child endangerment. Previously, they were charged with child abuse, possession of a narcotic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. But those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
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.
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 Lisaius, who at the time was a reporter covering local crime at KOLD News 13, and 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.
The child endangerment charges are felonies, but can be designated as misdemeanors after sentences are served.
At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Som Lisaius apologized for “putting our family in this terrible situation.” Krystin declined to speak to the judge.
