Vanessa Miller, CR Gazette –
A 33-year-old West Branch mother and her sister are facing criminal charges after police said they showed up intoxicated to pick up her 3-year-old daughter and got into an argument with the babysitter.
Heather Lynn Parizek and Kendra Lea Martin, 32, of Riverside, drove from Lone Tree to a home near Whispering Prairie and Aster avenues in Iowa City at 2 a.m. Saturday with intentions of taking the 3-year-old home to West Branch, according to an Iowa City police complaint.
The babysitter reportedly refused to release the child to her mother and aunt, who appeared to be intoxicated, and a verbal and physical altercation ensued, officers reported. The babysitter called police, and officers reported finding Parizek walking down the middle of the street with her sister and daughter.
The child was wearing only shorts and a short-sleeve shirt in 30 degree weather, police reported, and she said several times while police were present that she was cold.
Parizek agreed to sit in the car with her daughter, but while attempting to get inside, she hit her daughter’s head on the door, police reported. Parizek eventually allowed the child to go home with her sober father, and Parizek was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and public intoxication, even though she refused to chemical and breath testing, police reported.
Parizek, who police said had slurred speech, watery eyes and smelled of alcohol, admitted she made a poor choice by bringing her daughter outside in the cold with little clothing on and by wanting to take her daughter in a vehicle with a drunk driver.
Martin was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and operating while intoxicated after police said she drove herself and her sister from Lone Tree to Iowa City. A breath test showed Martin’s blood alcohol level at .170, according to police.
