Woman accused of beating girl over Cheetos

Deby Mejia is charged with injury to a child in a beating over a bag of Cheetos. Deby Mejia is charged with injury to a child in a beating over a bag of Cheetos. Photo: Houston Police Department Photo: Houston Police Department Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Woman accused of beating girl over Cheetos 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Houston woman accused of beating a 10-year-old girl to unconsciousness over a bag of Cheetos is in the Harris County Jail on $60,000 bail.

Deby Janis Mejia, 23, had been caring for the girl since 2006, when the child's mother was deported to Honduras, according to the arrest warrant.

Mejia is charged with injury to a child in the incident on Oct. 11 at their apartment in northwest Houston.

The girl went to a neighbor's apartment that day to get Cheetos while Mejia was at the store, court documents state.

When Mejia returned and saw the girl eating the snack food, she got "real mad" and began hitting her with an extension cord, the girl told authorities.

Then, Mejia grabbed her by the hair and banged her head on the floor causing her to pass out, records state.

The girl told investigators she couldn't remember how many times she was hit with the cord or how many times her head was banged on the floor.

Mejia admitted kicking the girl while she lay on the floor but said she didn't think she had done anything wrong, according to the criminal complaint.

The alleged abuse came to light when an Alief School District police officer took the girl to Child Protective Services after noticing bruises on her legs and a bump on her head, records state.

carol.christian@chron.com