Amy Shellhammer (Courtesy: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)
PHOENIX - Court documents show a Mesa woman is facing child abuse and other charges, after she allegedly left her son inside a garage with no air conditioning.
What we know:
In court documents, the suspect was identified as 32-year-old Amy Nicole Shellhammer. Investigators accuse Shellhammer of leaving her two-year-old son inside her home's garage with nobody home on July 29.
According to records from the National Weather Service, the high in Phoenix reached 111°F on July 29.
"This incident was reported by the defendant's neighbor during another police incident involving the defendant on Aug. 1, 2026," read a portion of the court documents.
Investigators describe the neighbor as a foster mother, and that she saw the child sleeping in the garage. She told police she was 'very worried for the child because the garage was [not air conditioned] and extremely hot."
"The neighbor said it took her 20-30 minutes to wake up the child after removing him from the garage," police wrote. "Nobody else was at the defendant's residence at the time."
Dig deeper:
Investigators said the child was taken into custody by the Department of Child Safety on Aug. 1.
"Fentanyl, methamphetamine, and THC was discovered in the victim's system after a medical evaluation. The medical evaluation results prompted further investigation by DCS," read a portion of the court documents.
Police said Shellhouse later admitted that "she smokes fentanyl, meth, and marijuana 10+ [times] per day inside her residence with her 2-year-old," and said her son is "obviously exposed when she smokes."
What they're saying:
Investigators say there is a protection order from 2025 that bans Shellhammer from having any contact with the victim. The protection order, which was issued in Colorado, also required that Shellhammer maintain at least 100 yards of distance between her and the victim.
What's next:
Per court records, Shellhammer is accused of felony child abuse. She is also accused of a count of failure to comply with a court order, which is a misdemeanor.
A judge has set a $35,000 bond for Shellhammer. Should she make bail, Shellhammer will be subjected to a number of restrictions, including a ban on contacting the victim and other children, and a ban on leaving the state.
Meanwhile, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from court documents related to this case.