A mother in East Texas faces a felony count of injury to a child after she allegedly served vodka-laced Jell-O shots to fifth graders at a holiday party in December.
Teresa Isabel Bernal, 33, was arrested and booked last week after a nearly four-month investigation into the incident that took place December 20 at Jones Elementary School in Tyler.
Bernal, who teachers and administrators described as “an involved parent and was present at many functions at the school,” maintains it was a mistake and she had no idea the gelatin contained alcohol. She told police she purchased the treat at a local home-based business. Her own daughter is a student in the class.
The result of the holiday shots was not a bunch of crazed fifth-grade party animals, though school staff said students had consumed nearly all of the shots before staff realized they contained alcohol.
“One child threw up and another was unable to stand up after consuming six shots,” said an arrest affidavit obtained by KETK news in Laredo. Fifteen students were sent to the school nurse and reported headaches and stomach problems. Another student claimed he had “passed out” after school following the party.
A Tyler Independent School District police officer received a phone call in December from the Jones Elementary assistant principal about the spiked shots. But interviews of those involved did not begin until January, when staff and students returned after the holiday break.
Bernal told police she had purchased the Jell-O shots from a local business she found on Facebook. She maintained to police she did not intend to give the students alcohol-laced treats.
However, an investigator looked at a photo of the Jell-O shots Bernal ordered, and states in the affidavit:
It clearly states the Jell-O shots contain Smirnoff [a vodka brand]. In my opinion, there is no way Bernal could have missed the fact that the Jello-O shots she purchased and brought to her daughter’s fifth grade Christmas party contained drinking alcohol.
Bernal was arrested and booked at the Smith County Jail last Monday for recklessly causing bodily injury to a child and posted her $75,000 bond the same day.
According to Tyler ISD, Bernal has not been allowed back on campus since the incident.
Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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