Woman clutching 9-month-old scales four-story ladder to building roof, Calif. cops say

Police took the stairs to the top of a four-story building in Ventura, California, on Monday — but the baby-clutching woman they arrested got to the roof the hard way, authorities said.

The officers were responding to a 911 call around 11:30 a.m. that reported a woman climbing up the outdoor fire escape of the building as she held a baby in one arm, police said.

On the roof, officers said they found 27-year-old Maryann Salazar still holding her 9-month-old son. Police said Salazar is homeless.

Salazar wouldn’t hand the child to police, so officers — worried about the child’s safety — “forcefully removed” him from Salazar, police said. Though Salazar resisted arrest, she eventually was taken into custody.

Police said the woman had scaled a ladder that ran straight up the face of the building, which is locally called the Perry Mason building because it housed the office of the man who wrote the mystery series about the fictional attorney, the Ventura County Star reports.

Salazar faces charges of felony child endangerment and resisting arrest, according to police. She was booked at the Ventura County Jail.

Salazar is being held on $100,000 bail, the Star reports.

Police said the baby wasn’t hurt as the mother scaled the building and resisted arrest. Still, to be safe, authorities took the child to the Ventura County Medical Center for a medical check, according to police.

Authorities reached out to Child and Family Services, which will have custody of the child after the medical check.

Ventura County court records indicate that Salazar is involved in an open 2017 case in which she faces charges of resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer, according to police.

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Woman clutching 9-month-old scales four-story ladder to building roof, Calif. cops say."