Baby used as down payment for used Dodge Intrepid
Oh baby, we really can't make this stuff up, folks. Pueblo, Colorado police arrested three people on charges of using a 5-month-old baby as a down payment on a car – not even a new car, but a used Dodge Intrepid. A young woman apparently tried to get a car and some cash and only had the baby to offer in exchange. Allegedly, Nicole Uribe gave the baby to Jose-Juan Lerma and his wife, Irene, for the down payment on the car. She also would have received an unspecified amount of cash, in addition to the car. The baby is now in a foster home, while the three suspects sit in a Pueblo jail with bail set at $50,000 each. After being tipped to the exchange on Monday, Police Sgt. Brett Wilson said they had Uribe in custody within hours. The Lermas were arrested Tuesday. All are being held on charges of felony child trafficking.
Thanks for the tip, Paul!
[Source: CNN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JC3 6:20PM (2/28/2007)
There's gotta be a drug related component to this.
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Joe 6:26PM (2/28/2007)
Well the drugs would be the only reason to purchase the Used Intrepid in the first place...
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Frank 6:32PM (2/28/2007)
It's not that bad a car. Now if it was a Pontiac Aztek you'd have a point.
"A young woman apparently tried to get a car and some cash and only had the baby to offer in exchange."
The article didn't day how much cash. Could be that the cash part was significantly more than what the car is worth. With adoptions costing upten thousand bucks I wonder what black market babies are worth?
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Non-Bizarro Adam 7:01PM (2/28/2007)
I wonder if I could use my bastard nephew as a down-payment on a new Camaro in a couple years....
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Accordsforall 7:05PM (2/28/2007)
Hmmmm..
See.. I agree with the fact that ya have to have been on drugs to buy that POS. But... trading a baby to buy it?? Thats just plain stupid.
I could think of a dozen other vehicles to purchase.. rather than that beaten down POS.
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jgp 7:07PM (2/28/2007)
Is there any way they can be charged with felony stupidity too?
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WTF 7:17PM (2/28/2007)
"Is there any way they can be charged with felony stupidity too?"
The law term for being an idiot is negligence.
That's pretty messed up, but it was a good thing because the baby is away from all those people...
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david 7:56PM (3/12/2007)
a friend of mine wanted to trade his dog for an accord and they told him he can't trade a dog for another dog.
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Jeff Banks 8:29PM (2/28/2007)
Babies on the open market just aren't going for what they used to.
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david 8:35PM (2/28/2007)
must have had problems with sludge.
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lch 9:29PM (2/28/2007)
What a stupid thing to do for an Intrepid. These days, with one Kindergarten class, you could probably buy all of Chrysler.
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kevin 10:25PM (2/28/2007)
Ok. I've got a 99 Intrepid, and I like it. It's an good car. Not, oh-my-god-I've-got-to-get-me-one-of-those here's my kid I'll get you the cash when i can, good. It's more, thank goodness American cars have poor resale value otherwise all I'd be able to afford is an 89 Accord, good.
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wally 10:53PM (2/28/2007)
Baby's diaper had s...ludge problem!
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BOB 12:42AM (3/01/2007)
Must have been a pretty bad kid, for such a lame car.
The LAPD used to drive them; they were known as the
Dodge Entrapment then.
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bassetized 2:13AM (3/01/2007)
"Heard about a couple living in the USA, that they traded in their baby for a brand new Chevrolet"
Elvis Costello
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aaron 12:28AM (3/01/2007)
The Dodge Intrepid family of cars are shit, and on the side of the road that is all I see are Intrepids.
They are not well made cars. I only heard bad things about them from my mechanic when he used to work on my Contour SVT. "Everything but the engine itself is prone to extreme failure.", he said.
I once heard a sad story about a 25 year old man (and three kids) of how he was trying to put the spark back into his love life with his wife. He ran into a roadblock when he described how he put thousands into his '95 Intrepid only for it only to die... and now they are down to a Cavalier. Very sad but foolish because he didn't have money problems until AFTER he fixed it.
I'm not rich and far from it, but the point is (apart from that Intepids are crap) some people do not research on a car's value before they make these sort of a decisions like expensive work...work that costs more than the car is worth. If you are desperate for transportation, buy a Honda that's in your price range, even if it is ten years older than the Intrepid you intend to buy. If you are desperate to get a car fixed like the guy I talked about above, then talk to a mechanic, research on the internet, then friends, then spouse, think of a solution to bring up to your spouse, talk, then do the right thing. The guy above did not.
If you are not married, still be wise in your decisions. My story? Oh boy, not as bad, but bad nonetheless.
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Bryan 12:50AM (3/01/2007)
This is a sad story, however, the good Lord was watching over this baby and be glad these people attempted to trade the baby and now it is in proper care. I don't understand how people can just trade and sell human lives when there are people out there who really want kids and can care for them. As far as the intrepid goes, for such a big car, I heard it was a deathtrap. I had one for a rental back in 99. I had to hit the brakes a little fast to avoid hitting the Mustang in front of me..well the brakes were crap and didnt stop me in time. Luckily, I just barely bumper her and her car was fine. As far as the rest, I thought the Intrepid was kinda cool. Come to think of it though, I havent seen one in a while...
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RPM38 2:05AM (3/01/2007)
This is an automotive new site right? Did you report on the astronaut love triangle incident because she DROVE accross country in a CAR? You guys are coming up with enough... leave this stuff out.
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Nick 4:45AM (3/01/2007)
Babies- A renewable resource. What's wrong with seeing if there's a market for them- A straight up adoption market sure would be interesting.
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Lee M Cardholder 9:12PM (3/02/2007)
If you try to cut the adoption brokers out of their commission, this is what could happen.
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