Couple to keep Mexican foster child

PORTLAND – An Oregon couple say they will be able to adopt the little boy they have raised since he was 4 months old despite a state recommendation that he be sent to Mexico to live with his grandmother.

Angela Brandt said Wednesday that the grandmother, Cecilia Martinez, has withdrawn from the custody dispute over her grandson, Gabriel Allred.

Martinez’s son – Roberto Valiente Martinez – and the boy’s mother lost their parental rights when they were convicted of drug crimes. The father also was convicted of a sex crime.

Brandt said she and her husband, Steve, plan to move ahead with formal adoption for Gabriel, now 2.