LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas mother at the center of a case that made international headlines was arrested and accused of selling drugs for a third time.
Nevada State Police arrested Kendra Long, 45, after her probation officer said he found baggies with more than 27 grams of meth, pills most commonly known as Xanax and Valium, and equipment like a scale.
Long was arrested on Aug.15, eight days after the probation compliance check, according to an arrest report obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators. She blamed an ex-boyfriend, according to the probation officer.
9-year-old child hands Henderson police bag of drugs, mom arrested “Long made statements alleging that her ex-boyfriend was a member of the cartel and sold methamphetamine and that it must have been from him when she retrieved the items from storage,” the report stated.
Long gave police a similar excuse when she was arrested in July 2022. The 8 News Now Investigators first obtained video from the investigation showing her son, age 9, handing a Henderson police officer a bag of more than 100 grams of meth found in Long’s home, according to police documents. Long denied the drugs were hers.
Dad says system failed son after boy hands Henderson police bag of drugs, mom arrested “I have no idea what that is,” Long said.
Police body camera video showed officers at the scene, comforting Long’s son and questioning her. Long’s bond was set at $25,000 which she posted.
Prosecutors said Long violated a court order prohibiting her from discussing her criminal case with her son. Two different judges issued warnings, according to court documents.
Long was convicted of child abuse and drug charges in July of 2023, according to police documents. Clark County District Court Judge Monica Trujillo issued a suspended sentence and placed Long on probation.
Three months later, Long was accused of violating probation. She faced additional charges after an officer reported finding bags of meth, along with cocaine in her possession. Trujillo sent Long to a drug treatment program.
An arraignment for the new drug charges is scheduled for Sept. 18. A probation revocation hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19 with Judge Erika Mendoza.
“This is not a user,” Anthony Cruz, Long’s ex-husband told the 8 News Now Investigators in a January interview. “This is someone that is distributing and selling.”
Cruz told the 8 News Now Investigators he was granted sole custody of their son after a hard fight. He also pointed to failures in the criminal justice system after Long was given chance after chance.
“Once the legal system even saw that evidence and they didn’t do anything about it, it was pretty disheartening,” Cruz said. “Then it just kind of snowballed from there but that was the first incident where we realized even with red-handed, caught red-handed type knowledge, it doesn’t mean anything in the justice court there.”
Long is also known as Kendra Long-Ypil.
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