Yvonne Legardy’s mug shots from her two arrests this week (Dona Ana County Detention Center)
A 40-year-old mother in New Mexico was arrested two times in the same week, both times for allegedly abusing her children in sadistic fashion, including forcing them to smoke cigarettes until they vomited and spraying them with pepper spray.
Yvonne Legardy was taken into custody on Monday and Thursday of this week, each time being charged with abuse of a child not resulting in death or great bodily harm, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a report from El Paso, Texas, Fox affiliate KFOX, the initial incident took place on May 31, 2024. A probable cause affidavit obtained by the station states that Legardy’s 14-year-old son fled from his home and went to the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library seeking assistance. The boy reportedly claimed that his mother had beaten him with the handle of a blue metal mop.
Officers with the Las Cruces Police Department responded to the scene and spoke to the boy, who claimed that his bother beat him for failing to “properly” clean up their backyard. Police said the child had visible injuries which included welts on his body that appeared to match the diameter of the mop handle.
Police then went to Legardy’s home in the 1700 block of Webster Avenue where she claimed her son lied about their violent encounter. Instead, Legardy reportedly told police that she was attempting to search her son for “contraband” when he suddenly ran off. However, officers at the home also said they observed a blue metal mop in the garage that was visibly damaged in a manner consistent with the beating described by the child.
As investigators were looking into the initial allegations levied against Legardy, they reportedly learned about a disturbing incident that began with Legardy discovering a single vaping device and ultimately ended with her pepper-spraying several of her children.
Court documents reportedly state that on May 11, 2024, Legardy found a vaping device at her home that she believed belonged to one of her children. When she was unable to determine which child brought the vape home, she allegedly took two of the kids into the backyard where she forced them to chain smoke cigarettes until they threw up.
According to court documents, Legardy reportedly became angry about the kids throwing up and responded by pulling out her can of Mace and pepper spraying them both. In fact, authorities reportedly alleged in court documents that Legardy has previously used pepper spray on her children multiple times.
Legardy’s husband, Lerenzo Andre Legardy, is currently behind bars for allegedly abusing two of her children. He allegedly used an extension cord to repeatedly whip two of the teenagers in the legs, arms, shoulders, and head because he caught them playing with the family’s Amazon “Alexa” device.
Legardy currently remains in detention at the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she is being held without bond. She is scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary examination on July 31, records show.
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