Carson deputies arrest man for felony child abuse after taking toddler from mother while intoxicated

On Monday, 24-year-old Jose Bustos Lopez of Sparks was arrested in the 4300 block of N. Carson Street for felony child abuse/neglect, DUI first, domestic battery first, and obstruction. 

According to the arrest report, Bustos Lopez was arrested after deputies were dispatched in reference to a domestic dispute. The reporting party reported that Bustos Lopez had entered her residence, and she did not know how he got in. 

She said that Bustos Lopez had also taken their three-year-old child and was leaving the location with them. She said that she believed Bustos Lopez was intoxicated, and that he lives in Reno and will often stop at a North Carson Street gas station before heading back. 

While en route to speak with the caller, another deputy stated they found a vehicle matching the description at that gas station. 

Deputies made contact with Bustos Lopez who was “immediately uncooperative” according to the report. 

Additional deputies responded, and the deputy on scene stated Bustos Lopez was refusing to identify himself. 

Inside Bustos Lopez’s vehicle deputies located the three-year-old, who was “crying and visibly scared.” Deputies calmed them down while their mother drove to come and retrieve them. 

Deputies asked the child how they had felt during the incident that occurred at their house, and the child “showed deputies a thumb downward.” 

Deputies noted that Bustos Lopez smelled of alcohol, and when deputies opened the car door to search for the child, they observed an open and empty beer bottle in the cup holder next to the driver seat. A second empty beer bottle was on the floorboard in the backseat where the child was, along with an unopened beer bottle. 

While en route to the hospital to have Bustos Lopez evaluated, he told them that the child’s mother had texted him arranging him to come and pick the child up. He said when he got there, they got into an argument because the child’s mother no longer wanted them to go with Bustos Lopez. 

He said he recorded the entire incident with the child’s mother on the phone, and that it never became physical. Deputies asked how he got into the house, and he was “adamant that he did not force entry.” Deputies asked if he’d had anything to drink, and he said he did not. 

Deputies asked about the beer bottles in the car, and he said they’d been from a different night. 

Deputies asked the child’s mother to come and speak to them about the incident at the sheriff’s office. 

She told them that earlier in the day, an incident had occurred between herself and Bustos Lopez that has been redacted from the report. Following the incident, she said she attempted to go to the bathroom to get away from Bustos Lopez, but that he kept following her. She said he was intoxicated, and at one point he picked her up to carry her, and she told him to stop as she did not want to be dropped or fall due to his intoxication. She said they both ended up falling on the ground, and he hit his head on the corner of the wall, and she scraped her knee. 

She told deputies she was trying to gather clothing to leave when Bustos Lopez “got in her face” and pushed her, causing her to fall into a crib. She said she hurt her arm and felt too weak to stand up as a result. 

Later, she said she tried to call Bustos Lopez’s father, which further upset him. At that point, she attempted to call 911 but said Bustos Lopez took her phone and tossed her phone towards a window before grabbing his own to begin recording. 

She said Bustos Lopez grabbed their child and took them out to his truck. She said she retrieved her phone and called 911 when Bustos Lopez came back inside. She said he realized she was on her phone with dispatch and left again. 

Bustos Lopez had his blood drawn through a warrant to check his BAC. He was transferred back to the jail and booked for DUI, domestic battery, child abuse, and obstruction. 

Bail: $44,686

All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) is public information and supplied by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office through probable cause reports. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. View our policy on naming defendants here.

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