Officers found Tammy Argueta, 36, of Riverside, with two grams of crack cocaine and three small children in her car.
TRENTON -- Police charged a Burlington County woman with endangering the welfare of three children she was watching after arresting her for allegedly buying cocaine with the kids in her car.
Officers watched a hand-to-hand transaction between a man on foot and woman in a parked car at about 9 a.m. Tuesday at Riverside and South Hermitage avenues in the city's West Ward, police spokesman Lt. Stephen Varn said.
Suspecting a drug deal, the officers detained both suspects.
Officers allegedly found Tammy Argueta, 36, of Riverside, with two grams of crack cocaine, plus three small children in her car, Varn said.
The officers, Frederick Bender and Elijah Ramos, investigated further and found Argueta was watching the children.
They contacted the state's Division of Child Protection and Permanency, and the children's mother, who came to Trenton and eventually took custody of the children, Varn said.
Police did not identify the mother, who traveled to the city from Bethlehem, Pa., or elaborate on the babysitting situation. The children were not physically harmed.
Argueta is charged with the endangering counts, several drug offenses and being an unlicensed driver. She was initially held at the Trenton police lockup on $75,000 bail Tuesday.
The alleged dealer, Anah Sanders, 19, of Pottery Lane in Trenton, allegedly had two grams of marijuana and $233 cash when apprehended on nearby Colonial Avenue, police said.
Sanders is charged with multiple drug dealing offenses and was initially held on $100,00 bail Tuesday.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.