A Farmington man was arrested in the early morning hours of July 4 after he allegedly became intoxicated and threw a “firecracker” and a “smoke bomb” at his young child.
Billy Yabeny, 40, is charged with a third-degree felony child abuse and abandonment of a child in connection to the incident.
Farmington Police were called at 1:42 a.m. July 4 to an apartment in the 2400 block of North Dustin Avenue to do a welfare check on Yabeny’s 13-year-old and 8-year-old daughters. The check came after the girls’ aunt received text messages from them stating that they were “scared” because their father “was heavily intoxicated” and had been “verbally and physically abusive,” according to the statement of probable cause.
The 13-year-old reportedly told her aunt that she and her sister “had not eaten in three days,” according to the statement of probable cause.
Police noted in the statement that they learned that the state Children Youth & Families Department had been notified of Yabeny “being drunk and abusive” toward the girls last year, but the child welfare agency reportedly investigated and “eventually closed out” the case, leaving the girls in their father’s care.
Police did not locate the two girls until 2:06 a.m. as they had left and went to another apartment complex to stay with a friend. Upon questioning the 13-year-old, she reportedly told police they were lighting fireworks with Yabeny at 12:04 a.m., when he “lit a small firework, identified as a ‘smoke bomb’ and threw it at (the 8-year-old),” according to the statement of probable cause.
Yabeny then allegedly “lit a firecracker, identified … as a ‘Black Cat’ and again threw it at (the 8-year-old),” who was scared and “began to scream and cry,” according to the statement of probable cause.
The 13-year-old told police that when she “confronted” her father about throwing the fireworks at her younger sister, he allegedly “responded by shoving her with both hands on her upper back, which caused her to fall on the couch,” according to the statement of probable cause.
The child said they “were afraid of being harmed by their father,” so they left and contacted their aunt in Albuquerque, who then reported it to the police, court records state.
Police investigated the child’s statement and reportedly found fireworks in the area, where she stated the incident happened. They also found Yabeny and questioned him about his children’s whereabouts and he allegedly was unable to answer questions, according to the statement of probable cause.
Yabeny was arrested and booked into the San Juan County Detention Center.
The two girls were released to the custody of their aunt, court records state.
