Mom Of Abandoned Lakewood Baby Released From Jail, Records Show

LAKEWOOD, WA - The mom accused of abandoning her infant son on a Lakewood lawn last week after allegedly using methamphetamine was released from jail Wednesday, according to Pierce County jail records. Jessica Hanson, 31, was charged last week with second-degree abandonment and was being held on $25,000 bond.

The infant - born in early November - was found by a passerby around 1:30 a.m. on April 3 on a lawn along John Dower Road. Lakewood police asked for the public's help in finding the parents. Jessica Hanson and the infant's father, Kevin, were located the same day.

According to charging documents, the baby had been left at the home of a friend of Hanson's on April 2. Around midnight, Hanson allegedly went to the home to retrieve the baby. A witness told police that Hanson entered the home and put the baby in a car seat, but the baby fell out of the seat and rolled onto the floor. Hanson then allegedly grabbed the baby by the back of his pajamas and left the home, the charging documents say.

A neighbor of the babysitter told police that, at around 12:15 p.m., Hanson came to his apartment and asked to use the bathroom, but did not have the baby with her. The neighbor offered Hanson a ride back to the babysitter's house, the charging documents say, but she "started darting back and forth and hiding behind things," and then ran away.

Tacoma police found Hanson early on the morning of April 3, and she allegedly told them that she deposited her baby on the lawn because she thought she was being chased by several people. She told police that she thought the people chasing her - who she thought were in the Russian mafia - might hurt the baby, according to charging documents.

Kevin Hanson told police that he and Jessica Hanson had been using methamphetamine on Sunday night. The couple, who are from Tonasket in north central Washington, were apparently visiting friends in the Lakewood area.

Along with the criminal charges, there is a no-contact order in place between Hanson and her son.

Image via Lakewood police