Woman Accused of Trading 2 Year Old Child for Gun
Trading goods and services without the use of money is called bartering.
But that's not exactly the case when it comes to trading your 2 year old child for a gun.
Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies arrested Tanya Nareau for allegedly trying to trade her 2-year-old child for a gun, the Associated Press reports.
A family friend who had the child confirmed to deputies that Nareau gave her daughter to him for a gun, officials said.
Nareau, is being held on felony charges of unlawful sale of a child and solicitation of a weapon by a prohibited person.
A police report states that the child's grandfather told police that Nareau called, saying "she feared for her safety and needed a gun. Tanya offered to trade the child for a gun.''
The report states that Nareau showed up at the grandfather's job with the child claiming she would never see the child again.
The Arizona Republic reports that while deputies were present, the grandfather called Nareau to ask again if she wanted to "go through with the deal," according to the report.
Meanwhile, Mesa police were with the mother, who was in the process of reporting the child kidnapped even though she already had handed over the child to the baby's grandparents, the report states.
Authorities later went to the Mesa apartment and arrested Nareau for agreeing to trade her daughter for a handgun.
According to the paper, she explained that she was using methamphetamine, lost her job and needed the gun because she lived in a rough neighborhood with her 2 year old child.
In general, unlawful sale of child charges are intended to cover any transaction in which remuneration or other consideration is given or received under circumstances in which a person who does not have a lawful right to custody of the child thereby obtains de facto authority over the child.
- Initial Report Concerning the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (U.S. Dept. of State)
- Deputies: Woman tries to trade child for gun (East Valley Tribune)
- MCSO: Woman tries to trade 2-year-old child for gun (abc15.com)
- Grandparent Rights in Arizona (provided by Cates, Hanson, Sargeant and Rakestraw, PLC)
- Criminal Law FAQs (provided by The Law Office of Marc Shelowitz and Andrew Coffey)