San Diego Police Department

Tierrasanta Mother Whose Toddler Was Found Dead in Hot Car Pleads Guilty

Pricilla Marquez Harris pleaded guilty Wednesday morning, admitting to the primary charge of child endangerment.

A Tierrasanta mother whose toddler was found dead in a hot car last August pleaded guilty Wednesday to child endangerment.

Pricilla Marquez Harris, 24, was arrested by the San Diego Police Department on September 19, 2019 on child endangerment charges after a nearly 6-week long investigation following the toddler's death in early August.

Scarlett Harris split photo

Harris called 911 from her home on Leary Street just before 1 p.m. on Aug. 5 to report she could not find her daughter.

Within five minutes of hanging up, Harris called 911 again and said she found her daughter inside a car and the toddler was in need of medical help.

Paramedics arrived within a minute of the second call, but it was too late. Scarlett Grace Harris had died. She was just three months shy of turning 2 years old.

According to the transcripts of the 911 calls, Harris told dispatchers she had taken the anti-depressant Trazodone so she could fall asleep.

Two days after Harris' daughter died, two adults suspected of overdosing were taken from the home on Leary Street to an area hospital.

Harris wasn't involved in the suspected overdose, but she was taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to San Diego police.

Leary Street is located south of Tierrasanta Boulevard and west of Santo Road. The neighborhood is filled with housing used by U.S. personnel from local military bases.

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