A Phoenix woman was arrested on Tuesday after witnesses at Peter Piper Pizza saw her 2-year-old kid fall out of his chair -- possibly because he was drunk.
Valerie Topete, 32, was at the pizza parlor in Chandler in the evening when -- a witness told police -- she poured beer from a pitcher into the tot's sippy cup, set the cup in front of him and walked away. The kid fell off the chair not long after, leading the witness to conclude that the child may have been intoxicated.
Topete 'fessed up to spiking her kids apple juice when cops arrived at the scene.
In a child-rearing method that reminds us Kristopher Harvey's "give-'em-shots-'til-they-puke" program from last month, Topete claimed that giving the kid beer was "reverse psychology" to make him stop grabbing for the pitcher. Of course, such a plan wouldn't work if the kid actually liked the stuff, but we imagine Topete didn't think it out that far.
Topete also admitted that she'd seen the kid drink from the sippy cup. A cop saw that the cup contained about four ounces of liquid, a frothy head and a strong smell of alcohol.
Mother-and-son were taken to a hospital, where the kid was evaluated for possible alcohol ingestion and potential injuries from the fall. The booking sheet doesn't list the kid's BAC. Topete was arrested at the hospital and booked into jail. Police are seeking one count of child abuse.
