Former Tucson television reporter, Som Lisaius, and his wife have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment charges, stemming from a May incident in which their baby tested positive for cocaine.
Som and Krystin Lisaius each pleaded guilty to child endangerment, said Krisanne LoGalbo, a Pima County Superior Court spokeswoman.
The charge is currently considered a felony, but can be designated as a misdemeanor after the sentence is served, she said.
The Lisaiuses were initially charged with three felonies each, including child abuse, possession of narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show.
If the judge accepts the plea agreement, the other charges will be dropped.
On May 15, the couple brought their then-4-month-old baby girl to Oro Valley Hospital after the baby wouldn’t wake up and her eyes rolled back into her head, records from the Oro Valley Police Department show.
The baby tested positive for cocaine as did Lisaius, who at the time was a crime reporter at KOLD News 13, and his wife, Krystin Lisaius, who worked at KGUN Channel 9 two years ago, also as a reporter.
Police records show that the Lisaiuses used cocaine at their home that night, and Krystin breast fed the baby at about 8 a.m., after which she was found unresponsive.
The couple took the baby to Oro Valley Hospital, but then left with the baby against medical advice, police reports said. They then requested the baby be taken by ambulance to Banner-University Medical Center.
The baby, who was born in December, was placed by the state’s Department of Child Safety with her maternal grandmother once she was released from the hospital, according to their attorney, Michael Piccarreta.
The Lisaiuses have a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 3.
