A Gary woman signed a multi-part plea deal Sept. 6 for various criminal cases, including for having a friend hold her 3-month-old son in the front seat. He died when she crashed into a tree.

LaSheanna Cooper, 28, admitted to reckless homicide, a level 5 felony. She faces up to six years. She originally faced level 1 felony neglect.

A judge would have to accept the plea. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled Nov. 7.

She also admitted to dealing in a narcotic drug, a level 5 felony in May 2023 for selling Percocet/fentanyl pills. She faces up to six more years.

The plea also states she would serve any remaining sentence on a revoked probation in a 2019 burglary case.

Gary Police were called April 16, 2022, to the 3600 block of West 15th Avenue after a Nissan hit a tree and rolled over, charges state.

Shortly before the crash, she took him out of his car seat and told another woman to hold him in the front seat, according to a charging affidavit.

At the hospital, Cooper first told police she didn’t know who was driving. She later told them about picking up her friend. Cooper said she didn’t remember the crash, the affidavit said.

Her son was identified as Isaiah Neely, according to court documents. He was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m. that night, according to the Lake County coroner’s office.

The female passenger told police she let Cooper drive her car. She was upset that Cooper left her son in the car when they went into the house, who was crying “very loud,” she said.

When they left to go to the gas station, the car seat was not secured, the woman said, according to the affidavit. The boy was still crying and Cooper took him from the back seat and told the woman to hold him, documents said.

The woman said she lowered her seat back out of view, so a police officer wouldn’t see she was holding him, charges state.

They drove for five minutes before the crash, the woman said. Nothing seemed amiss and she saw Cooper drop her phone, which had been buzzing, just before the crash, court documents said.

The next thing she remembered was hitting the tree, she said. After impact, she couldn’t find the baby. She managed to crawl through the sunroof, while Cooper was still inside, she said, according to court documents.

mcolias@post-trib.com