Mia Holmes was facing an uncertain future even before she ventured out into the streets of south Sacramento on Saturday night.
The 41-year-old Sacramento woman has been charged with child endangerment in the February 2008 death of her daughter, 3-year-old Valeeya Brazile.
Now, she faces fresh felony counts of child endangerment, evading a police officer and driving under the influence, according to Sacramento police.
The latest case stems from her arrest Saturday night after an officer reported she was driving erratically in a purple Ford Escort near Stockton and Mack roads around 7:35 p.m.
Holmes sped away when the officer tried to pull her over, said Sacramento Police Officer Laura Peck.
Holmes ran a light, crashed into another car and was arrested, police said. Police found an 8-year-old boy in the car who was taken to a hospital after complaining of pain from the crash.
The boy, a child of one of Holmes' neighbors, later was turned over to his mother.
The occupants of the other car, ages 49, 20 and 10, also were taken to the hospital and later released.
Authorities would not release Holmes' blood-alcohol level, but prosecutor Rick Miller said he would file documents asking that Holmes remain in the Sacramento County jail without bail.
She had been out on $75,000 bail in the child endangerment case involving Valeeya, whose slaying was one of a series of child deaths in 2008 that prompted increased scrutiny of Sacramento County's Child Protective Services.
The case was one of several in recent months involving child deaths in which the mother was not accused of the killing but of placing the child in harm's way. In Holmes' case, the district attorney has added an enhancement to the child endangerment charge, alleging that the mother's omissions resulted in the little girl's death.
Holmes faces a maximum six years in state prison if convicted of child endangerment, and up to four more years on the enhancement.
Valeeya had been removed from her mother's care by CPS because of domestic violence. Court records show that Holmes had faced allegations of drug and alcohol abuse since the time she was pregnant with Valeeya.
Despite that history and unexplained injuries to the little girl – including a burn and a broken arm – a social worker recommended that she be reunited with her mother and the case was closed.
Valeeya was later beaten to death inside Holmes' Fair Oaks apartment, detectives say. Holmes' boyfriend, 22-year-old Thomas Jerome Martin, was charged with murder after her death.
Holmes and Martin are scheduled to go to trial in the case Feb. 24. Holmes is to be arraigned today in the latest arrest.
Read the full story at the Sacramento Bee.