Colorado Woman Accused of Selling Child for Down Payment on a Car

A 23-year-old mother allegedly tried to sell her son in exchange for a down payment on a car.

Police were tipped off and had arrested the woman and found the child within hours.

According to authorities, Nicole Uribe-Lopez has been accused of handing over her five month old boy to a couple in exchange for the down payment needed on a used Dodge Intrepid, as well as an unspecified amount of cash.

Court documents now state that the total amount given in exchange for the child was $1500, one third of which was used as the down payment on the automobile.

The couple, Jose-Juan Lerma, 47, and his wife Irene, 27, were also arrested on suspicion of trafficking children.

All three suspects were being held at the Pueblo jail. They are also all Mexican nationals. Jose-Juan Lerma is the only legal resident and the only suspect who has bonded out of jail. Immigration officials have placed holds on the two women.

The court documents also state that Uribe claimed she was making an adoption plan for her child with the Lermas. "Obviously she didn't go about it through the proper legal format that is in place here in America," said Sgt. Brett Wilson of the Pueblo Police Department.

"They negotiated back and forth," said Wilson. "They wanted the baby. Nicole didn't want the baby anymore."

The local Pueblo Chieftain reported another side to the story.

The newspaper spoke with Deputy District Attorney Karl Tameler, who is going to be the lead prosecutor on the case. He stated that his office will be investigating the situation at length.

"We're still in the reflection period and we're going to look at all facts and treat this rationally and not sensationalize. I'm willing to consider this a poor man's adoption gone bad," he said.

"Anytime something like this winds up on national news and the Today Show, and I think it's because of the term 'trafficking.' It sounds like someone's driving around with a U-Haul truck selling kids on corners."

Jose-Juan Lerma defended his motives with the Chieftain, saying that he wanted to help Uribe take care of the baby, not buy him.

"I just tried to help them out with the little boy," he said. "They didn't have no place to stay. I grew up with no mother so I don't like to see people suffer."

Six months prior to this incident, police were looking into a tip that a woman in the city was trying to sell her baby. The investigation never led to an arrest.

Sources used for this article:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1253695,00.html
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/11138770/detail.html#
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/03/baby_sold_for_a.html