'Gang Mom' Pleads, May Get Jail Time

A Watsonville mom arrested after a YouTube video showing her pleaded no contest to charges earlier this week, the District Attorney's Office reported.

Maribel Rivas, 41, was jailed in September.

Wednesday, she entered the no-contest plea to one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor before Judge Rebecca Connolly, according to Assistant District Attorney Alex Byers.

"It's basically parental neglect," said Byers, who is prosecuting the case.

It's likely that Rivas will be sentenced to parenting classes and ordered to stay away the other teen and gang members, according to Byers.

She also faces up to a year in County Jail, he added.

Rivas will be sentenced for her role in the gang fight Oct. 20.

The girls involved—two Pajaro Valley High School students—were dealt with by school administration. Those records are not public.

Byers noted that police didn't unearth significant gang ties in Rivas's background.

"When she was a youngerst, according to her own witness statments from her family, she was involved in gangs," he said, explaining that occurred when she was 14 or 15 years old.

There's no evidence that she's actively involved in gangs right now, other than her cheers at the fight, he added.

The video of the fight was removed from the Internet shortly after it was posted. A school administrator learned of the footage, saw it and reported it to police. However, Byers said he might play the video during the sentencing hearing.