MIAMI – A 35-year-old Miami woman was arrested Tuesday on accusations that she repeatedly punched her 8-year-old son in the face and kept him home from school for several months.
According to her arrest report, three detectives responded to the family’s home earlier in the day to investigate a possible child neglect incident.
Recommended Videos
When they arrived, they were met by the 8-year-old victim, who told them he had gotten into an argument with his mother, Joni Lyn Lowery, earlier in the day and she punched him multiple times on the right side of his face, leaving behind a visible welt and bruise, authorities said.
According to the report, the boy also told detectives that he had witnessed his mother the previous night putting a white powered substance, which came from a small baggie, into a cigarette before smoking it.
He said she “does that all the time” and also informed detectives that he hadn’t been to school for the past four months, the report stated.
According to police, detectives tried to make contact with Lowery who was inside the home with her 1-year-old son, but she didn’t come to the door.
Police said City of Miami Fire Rescue was then called to perform a forced entry.
According to the report, the detectives found Lowery sleeping in bed with her younger son.
She “woke up visibly intoxicated and seemed to be on drugs, incoherent and with bloodshot eyes,” the report stated.
Police said there wasn’t any food or water inside the house, and she claimed she had not purchased food because she was waiting for her food stamps to come in that day.
She also acknowledged that her son hadn’t been to school in four months due to her missing some paperwork, the report stated.
Police said an anonymous witness approached detectives during the investigation and said she had previously seen Lowery hitting her older son and said that the mother was “always high on drugs.”
Lowery was arrested on charges of child neglect, battery and failure of a parent to control school attendance.
Police said Lowery’s two sons are now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.