LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A woman accused of threatening her toddler son with a knife made her initial appearance in court Wednesday.
Kimberly Kardell, 34, was arrested on July 14 after barricading herself and her child from Las Vegas Metro police at the Budget Suites in the 2200 block of N. Rancho Drive.
A judge set her bail at $50,000.
An arrest report said Kardell told a police dispatcher she was threatening to kill herself and her 11-month-old son.
Arriving officers tried to make contact with the woman, observing that she had a knife in one hand and her son in the other arm.
After nearly four hours of barricading herself, SWAT officers were able to make their way into the hotel unit, arresting her and safely taking the child into protective custody.
In an interview, Kardell told detectives she had been upset after breaking up with a former boyfriend. She also wanted to pass off her child to the boy's father.
When she didn't hear from the boy's father, she attempted to commit "suicide by cop" and used her son as leverage, the police report said.
The woman also told police she had smoked methamphetamine before she began barricading herself from officers.
Kardell was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges including child abuse and endangerment with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer with a weapon, first degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon and allowing a child to be in the presence of a controlled substance.
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Kimberly Kardell (LVMPD)
