Woman arrested after son, 4, found on second-floor ledge of Fresno warehouse

A 34-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday morning in downtown Fresno on suspicion of child endangerment and possessing drug paraphernalia after her 4-year-old son was found on the second-story window ledge of an abandoned warehouse near Chukchansi Park.

A southwest patrol and two officers from the downtown bicycle unit were called to 752 H St., at the corner of Inyo Street, around 10 a.m. to check on a child who was seen on the ledge, possibly hanging out an open upper-floor window, of a warehouse building, Lt. Joe Gomez said.

The bicycle officers saw a boy in diapers standing on a ledge below the second-story windows and called the Fresno Fire Department to respond with a truck and ladder. The officers were able to convince the boy to crawl back to the open window, Gomez said.

Officers had to force the building door open to rescue the boy. When they entered the building, the officers woke up the boy’s mother, Nicole Legere, who was asleep in the downstairs apartment with a 2-year-old daughter.

“Legere was oblivious to the fact her unattended 4-year-old child had been standing on the second-story ledge of the warehouse and was more concerned about the officers forcing their way into the warehouse,” Gomez said.

Another woman, Julia Gutierrez, 30, was found in the building and arrested on a child endangerment warrant unrelated to Legere’s case. Gutierrez did not know Legere and was staying in a different part of the warehouse. The women did not have permission to live in the warehouse, Gomez said.

The children were placed with Child Protective Services.

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Woman arrested after son, 4, found on second-floor ledge of Fresno warehouse."