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IDAHO FALLS — A 22-year-old woman was arrested in Idaho Falls after police said they found her baby covered in feces in a cold car, with a dog and a sex offender.
Natalia Marie Folk was arrested for investigation of felony injury to a child, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.
On Nov. 5 about 11:48 p.m., Idaho Falls police officers were called to the Walmart parking lot at 500 S. Utah Avenue for a disturbance near the gardening section, according to court documents.
When they arrived, the caller was a man in the car with Folk and her 10-month-old daughter.
The man said he had borrowed a car from a friend in Pocatello and the three had driven to Idaho Falls.
According to the man, Folk was "heavily intoxicated and causing a disturbance," police said. Officers said they noticed Folk was staggering when she walked, had glassy, bloodshot eyes, and her speech was "heavily slurred."
Folk fell to the ground a couple of times while leaning against the car for support, according to police reports.
Officers then saw Folk's baby in a rear-facing child seat, in the back seat on the passenger side. According to police, the window on the back passenger door was missing, and a garbage bag had been taped in its place.
Police records say it was below 40 degrees Fahrenheit that night.
The baby reportedly shared the back seat with a medium-sized dog, which officers say was around 50 pounds.
The dog was on the other side of the back seat where there was a working window to block the cold.
The inside of the car was also full of items such as alcoholic beverages, vapes and knives, according to officers.
An officer states in court documents that "(Folk) was not in a state to be a caretaker due to her heightened emotion and inebriation."
According to the police report, Folk's "plan was for (the baby) to sleep through the cold night in a car seat without proper insulation or protection with a dog and a sex offender (the reporting party)."
Officers decided to remove the baby due to concerns for her imminent well-being, and take her to the Law Enforcement Building. When the officers removed the baby from the car seat, they noticed she was "completely saturated in her own urine and feces" and had been "left in her diaper for a substantial amount of time, to the point her car seat was also completely saturated with urine and feces as well," court documents state.
Another officer arrived with a K9 unit to find out if there were drugs in the car. Folk said that she had drugs in the car, but said the car wasn't hers, according to police.
Officers searched the car, where they reportedly found "a pink zippered pouch containing 1.4 grams of (a) crushed leafy green substance in an unlabelled pill bottle," believed by officers to be marijuana.
Also found in the car was a glass smoking pipe with (a) burned leafy substance still in the bowl.
Folk was then transported to the Bonneville County Jail, where she was booked with a bond of $25,000.
She is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 17. If convicted, she could face up to 12 years in prison.
