A mother from Texas is currently facing charges of reckless bodily injury to a child for allegedly serving alcoholic Jell-O shots at her daughter’s fifth-grade class Christmas party. Teresa Isabel Bernal, 33, of Tyler, was arrested following an incident on December 20 at her daughter’s elementary school. The assistant principal reported to the police that they suspected a parent had brought Jell-O shots containing alcohol to the party.
Upon interviewing 15 students who claimed to have consumed the spiked Jell-O shots, almost all of them experienced stomach pains and headaches afterward. One student even vomited twice, while another passed out. Additionally, two teachers who sampled the shots also suspected they contained alcohol.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the Jell-O shots were purchased from a sweet shop and had “Smirnoff” written on the bottom in thin white font. Bernal claimed that she was unaware the shots contained alcohol, stating that she thought they came from a small sweet shop run out of a private home.
Further inquiries with the owners of the sweet shop indicated that they believed Bernal intentionally ordered alcoholic shots for the party. One of the owners showed a text from Bernal asking if the shots had alcohol, to which she simply responded, “kids.”
Despite being a present and involved parent at the school, it was noted as odd that Bernal brought the shots. Lab results later confirmed the presence of alcohol in the Jell-O shots, resulting in a warrant for Bernal’s arrest.
Bernal was booked into the Smith County Jail on a charge of reckless bodily injury to a child, which is a state jail felony. This offense is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. She was released on a $75,000 bond the same day.
As of now, no attorney is listed for Bernal in this case. sentence: Please do not forget to turn off the lights before leaving the room.
Remember to switch off the lights before you go out. The sentence is already clear and doesn’t need to be rewritten.
