Mom of drowned boy now faces drug charges

A Richland Township woman facing charges in the accidental drowing death of her son is seeking a bond reduction in an unrelated crack cocaine case.

Theresa Lynn Sanchez, 27, of the 800 block of Fourth Street, Mine 37, is in the Cambria County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bond after being arraigned on the charges by District Judge Leonard Grecek.

Michael Filia, a Cambria County public defender, says the $10,000 bond set by Grecek is excessive and has asked the county court to reduce it.

A hearing on the bond-reduction petition will be held Tuesday by Judge David Tulowitzki.

In October, Sanchez was arrested on involuntary manslaughter and related charges in the Sept. 28 death of her 5-year-old son, Donte Sanchez. Authorities say she was in a drug-induced sleep when her young son wandered off and drowned in the Quemahoning Reservoir in Somerset County.

The boy died at Memorial Medical Center several hours after being found.

In the manslaughter case, she was released on $10,000 unsecured bond. Her preliminary hearing before District Judge Susan Mankamyer was continued once because she didn’t have an attorney.

That hearing now is set for Jan. 26 at Mankamyer’s office in Boswell. The magistrate’s office said Wednesday that Sanchez is being represented by a Somerset County public defender.

Sanchez also was arrested Dec. 1 by Johnstown police in a disturbance in a building in the 500 block of Horner Street.

Police contend that Sanchez and three men who also were arrested had crack, two metal crack pipes and a tin lid with cocaine residue in it.

Sanchez became belligerent when placed under arrest, police said, allegedly kicking at one of the officers as she was being placed into a transport van.

In a sworn affidavit, police said they were doing a “walkthrough” of the building while conducting a foot patrol in the Hornerstown area.

They heard a disturbance and went to Room 3, where Sanchez and a man were in a verbal confrontation in the doorway, police said. As the two officers approached, Sanchez ran into the room, where two other men were.

Authorities said the resident of the room could not be located and that the four people said “they didn’t know whose room it was and that they were just hanging out.” The four were taken into custody and charged with resisting arrest, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

The co-defendants are Robert Willis, 49, of the 800 block of Fronheiser Street; Leroy Mack, 51, of the 700 block of Coleman Avenue and Damian Markel, 24, of the 1200 block of Beach Street, Portage.

A preliminary hearing will be set after attorneys are appointed by the court to represent the three men, Grecek’s office said.