Today, at a hotel in Illinois. Who was here then? My sister was just here. You're in a hotel room, and then you want to get upset with us. Like this is our problem. >> I'm getting arrested, too. >> Yes, you both are. And inside a car in New Mexico. How are you? I walked out and we could hear him crying and screaming in the car. He looked really red. I think you have enough for the felony. These mothers led us to the same outcome, child endangerment. At the same time, stories deliver the same message. The line between parents and breaking the law can be surprisingly thin. A missing mother, a crying child, conflicting statements. The incident in Illinois turned a quiet hotel into a tense scene involving children. These kids were left unattended in a hotel room at age 2 and 4, which is completely unacceptable under any circumstances. On December 6th, 2024, Elgin police received a report from hotel staff that two children, ages 1 and 3, had been unattended in a room for several hours without supervision. When officers arrived, they heard the children crying, but found no sign of the mother. A short time later, she returned. I just got called over here cuz they were crying, so then we came and didn't want to leave them alone. He went and grabbed to grab Oh, there he is. Hi. So, can you tell me what's going on? Yeah, we got called cuz your kids were by themselves. Uh no, they weren't. >> Who was here then? My sister was just here. They weren't here for the last 30 minutes when the worker came and checked. That's why we're here. >> Baby was like grabbing at that he needs a diaper change, I think. I've at least been here for 12 minutes. The person who called had been here for some time before calling, so. This is ridiculous, honestly. Okay, so you have to stay in the room now with me? I'm waiting because you keep going out there and I need to make sure these kids are good because you weren't here for like 30 minutes. An adult was not here for 30 minutes with them. >> They were both sleeping. My sister just came out and I went to the store. For 30 minutes? >> My sister was here. I'm telling you the person who called is someone who works here. >> I understand that, but they have to Cuz then they have to prove that I I was lost. >> What's your first name? You need my first name and last name? And what's a good phone number for you? Okay, well this officer is in there watching your kids. We'll go in there and talk to them. Go inside and watch your children. Okay. Who was the your What's your same name that was watching them? Can you say over here, ma'am? I'm I'm trying to hear what's going on, so And a phone number? I don't have her phone number. I literally have a laptop. You see I don't have a Well, how do you speak to her so that I have Facebook. Okay, can I I just gave you her name. I don't have a phone number. This is I don't even have a phone. This is all I have. I can show you that. So, what do you want me to do? What's her address? Hello. Hi there. All right. >> Hi guys. What's going on today? You got a good toy there, huh? They were left unattended. She says just 30 minutes, but it claims like 2 or 4 They were literally sleeping alone. I got to find somebody who can talk to me on the side. >> Here, I'll I'll tell You guys can Yeah. The mother insisted that her sister had stopped by to look after the children, but this claim could not be verified. Hi, boss. Mom is in here changing the other one. Cool. So I think this is a mistake, but she just What's going on here or something? You want to go in there with the kids? Are they okay? >> Yeah, you can come in. Easy. Your iPad is in the bathroom. You don't have a phone? How would anyone contact you? Well, I just contact like Are you saying like how do I communicate with my family and everyone? >> I'm trying to contact you. How would I contact you? Through Facebook Messenger. >> All right. And then do you live here at this hotel? Yeah. This We're talking Daylin. We just want to know the timeline of what happened. What I understood is Daylin went to the gas station. Can you start from there when Daylin left to the gas station, where were you? I went outside at first and then let my sister in. I was up here for a little and then I left. >> 30 to 40 minutes. Okay. And your sister? Mhm. Okay. Were in the room you physically saw her in the room with the kids before leaving? Yes. >> And where did you go? Is this supposed to be like am I going to be arrested? Like what's going on? >> I'm trying to figure out what happened. Right now we walked into a room where kids are by themselves, so I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. >> minutes. I understand. And were they Was one of them sleeping? Neither one of them was sleeping. Okay, cuz she just checked on them earlier. She was sleeping, but I think I've explained enough to the other officers. >> So, I've already had DCFS called on me before and I know how this [ __ ] goes. >> Can you just tell me what happened? >> I was gone for 30 to 40 minutes. You left. Was your sister in the room? >> Mhm. Okay, just You can see on the cameras she comes here frequently. She showers here. >> Does she have her own room key to the door? >> No, she would need mine. She has a key to get into the doors, but my door is currently always how you guys were able to get in. She went on to give conflicting and unclear statements while withholding the identities of those involved. You left and where'd you go? I went back down through this way. >> You stayed in the hotel? No, I left for 30 to 40 minutes. >> Okay, where'd you go? I went to make a errand. Where would that be? In Elgin. Elgin's a pretty big place. I have to be very specific. I would like to know where you went, yeah. >> to go handle some business. Somewhere close to here or where is it? >> It's about 15 minutes at at the most away. Did you drive there? No, I had a ride. You had a ride? Who'd you ride with? I think his Do you happen to have a last name? No, it was requested for me. Is that like an Uber service? Who requested that for you? My sister. >> know address right now? No, I don't. Probably at work. Okay. What time she usually go to work? >> She has different shifts. They rotate and it's peak season, so I don't know. You left here to go run an errand. You got a ride from someone and you don't you don't want to tell me where that is. >> It's a little personal, so I don't really Okay. >> feel the need to express it, but I asked you just want to know what's going on so like I can know if you guys are okay. Kids are before, so I could just let my mom know and call my grandma, so I'm just trying to How long ago did Daylin leave the uh hotel? I'm not sure because I was still here. >> And then you left. How long ago you said? >> Now it's probably way longer than 30 to 40 minutes, right? >> How long were you gone? >> I was gone for up to 40 minutes. >> When did you meet up with Daylin cuz you guys walked in here together? I called him as soon as I was on my way back. >> of you had a phone. Did you see me coming with the laptop? You called him on a laptop. >> He has Neither one of us don't have a phone. And where'd you guys meet up at? Outside. >> Like outside the hotel? Mhm. At the same time, officers informed the mother that the children would undergo medical checks to ensure their health and safety. So, we have to take the kids to the hospital. So, am I going with my kids? >> We are taking them to the hospital so that they can get medically evaluated and then we're going to have to contact DCFS to see what they want to do from that point. >> So, you're telling me you're taking my kids away from me today? They are going to the hospital to be checked out because the information that we've been provided is that they've been left there for several hours. So, we have an obligation to make sure that the kids are safe, medically cared for in that time frame. Really any time frame with kids that age is unacceptable, but when we're talking 3 plus hours, that's that's a problem. We have to make sure that they're okay. They have to be examined by a medical professional. Am I not given the right to go with my kids to the hospital? >> That's one thing we're going to be kind of talking about at this point. Just one second. So, you called her on your laptop on your Let them do their thing and you can get you can have your laptop and you can call, text, however you need to. When evidence suggested the children had been left unsupervised longer than stated, police were required to contact DCFS. Tensions rose as the mother grew concerned about a possible review of her custody rights. You're going to take our kids? So, so again, I So, let's not let's not make this any more complicated than it needs to be. Kids are going to the hospital to get checked out by a medical professional because our investigations revealed that they've been left here alone since 1:30 p.m. We have an obligation to make sure that the kids are in a good medical condition. We are going to make sure that they're examined at a hospital and we're going to call DCFS for further direction. That's what it is. So, do we get our kids back after the hospital? We're going to have to call DCFS. DCFS is going to make that determination. And I'm supposed to like trust that you guys are going to You can trust us, believe me. We will do a good job of of making sure that your kids are cared for. And again, I told you you can't even come with them. One one thing I don't have a cell phone. How are you guys going to tell me what's going on on the updates with my daughter? >> One thing I will tell you is although you're upset and frustrated, cooperation is going to be very important to make sure that this is a smooth process. If you want your kids back, then you need to cooperate. I'm going to try to re-enact what the officer was saying, all right? On behalf of the Elgin Fire Department, we have to make sure that your kids are well taken care of. I'm Captain Wolzak with the with the department. You've got my name. I can give you all the contact information you need. I believe one of the officers are going to be remaining. I understand your phone's not working. The city's going to provide you with an officer that so that they can relay information. >> So, you don't know like how long It's literally up to DCFS. Because of the other case, they might just take my daughter. Are you serious? They literally came in here and like literally cleared them and said that they're they look healthy. And they're going to confirm that at the hospital. >> DCFS is going to make a determination on what we do. I'm not going to say that they're going to take the kids away from you. They may give the kids back to you tonight, but we have a process that we need to go through. It's imperative that you guys don't obstruct or make this any more difficult than it needs to be because again, we have to report to DCFS. While the father faced legal consequences for not cooperating, the mother continued to prevent officers from taking photos of the scene. I just need to get my iPad. Unless you're cool with us staying. We have an officer coming up to follow them to the hospital. We should have an officer Yeah, sounds good. Thank you. So, call your mom. Call your grandma. Call on my iPad. I I have not been You'll get a chance to Yeah, we'll take Come on out here with us in the hallway. Come on, please walk. Let's go. We'll let you make a phone call. Operating is making You guys take my kids. No, don't take us because this is my Follow me in the hallway now. Okay, in the hallway. No, no, no, it's okay. I'm going. I'm going. I'm going. I'm going. For what? Put them on your back. For what? For what? Me? No, I had my sister. >> She wasn't here. The video shows she wasn't. >> You can't lie with the video. >> I don't give a You guys had to see everything, okay? Okay. From beginning to end. See how many people enter these doors, okay? >> There was no No one. >> You guys follow me on there? We were calling them. We were dealing with you guys first. >> THEY'RE TAKING ME TO JAIL. >> FOR WHAT? FOR IN CHILD ENDANGERMENT. BRO, NO. THAT'S [ __ ] It's [ __ ] What's [ __ ] No, no, no, no, no, no. You guys cannot do this. Cuz you leave your kids in our hotel room. We were called by the hotel because you made a bad decision to leave your kids home alone. >> No, that's not You can make excuses all you want, but the reality is is you committed a crime and we have an obligation to make sure that your kids are okay. If you think it's okay to leave your kids in a in a hotel room by themselves for 3 hours, if you think that that's okay, that's That's irrational thinking in your head. We have probable cause to believe that these kids were left unattended, age 2 and 4, which is completely unacceptable under any circumstance. Sorry, 1 and 3. Left them in a hotel room. And then you want to get upset with us, like this is our problem that we created. No, no, no. We didn't create this problem. We are now forced to deal with it because you guys made a bad decision. And I'm not trying to talk down to you or belittle you, but there there is a point in time when we need to take some self-responsibility for our actions. And when unacceptable things happen and criminal law is broken, we have an obligation as the police to do what we need to do. We want to make sure your kids are safe. Leaving kids alone for a 3-plus hour period is not acceptable. We'll help you. >> even have Like this is crazy. >> Even when we're inside and out, right? I leave for 5 minutes and go to the >> not. You didn't. What is the consecutive time that I have to be >> There is no set timeline. >> So, if I leave for 10 minutes and I go outside, smoke a blunt, and I come back in, that's unacceptable. >> That's not the circumstances that we're dealing with right now. The circumstances that we're dealing with are that the kids were left alone for 3-plus hours. You guys took my kids. So, now how am I Like this is crazy. >> Someone's going to stay with me the whole night and make sure they're going to tell me they're going to be with my daughter. That's not the plan. We're going to be with you so that if you have questions about what what's going on, we're going to assure that The plan is you're going to be going down to the police station with us to address this problem. In the end, police followed procedure and brought her to the station as she appeared unsettled and fearful of losing custody of her children. I'm getting arrested, too. >> Yes, you both are. Because they They're SAYING THAT THEY HAVE EVIDENCE. THE JUDGE WILL SEE EVERYTHING. I'VE ALREADY HAD this exact same thing go on before. And we're not saying you're guilty of anything. We're saying we have probable cause. We're saying you have probable cause. We have probable cause for your arrest for endangering the life and health of a child. Actually, two counts because there's two children involved. I'm not trying to tell you that you're guilty of anything. That's for the courts to decide. We have an obligation when innocent children are involved in a case that we have to do everything line by line. I would not be doing your children a service if I just left them here with you and said, you know, let's try and do better. It doesn't work that way. >> These are the ones that are going to ask us for photos of the conditions that we found the kids in. Can we take pictures for their purposes? >> If you see if they want to see the see if my kids are okay, they They can see them without pictures. They're not going to come here. We're going to go to the hospital. Okay, then they can see them at the hospital, but no, they can't take photos. >> No, no, I'm I'm talking about the conditions of your apartment. >> You cannot take pictures of our >> You don't want me to? No, I mean, it's for the most part, it's not that bad, but It It documents the conditions at the time that we were here. Okay. Oh, so you're asking to take permission of photos? Yeah. Okay. No, you can't. >> Okay. They said that we Yes, so they took both the babies away from us and took them to the hospital. Now they're trying to charge me and dealing with child endangerment. Taken to the police station, booked and processed, and then we'll go from there. So, you guys witness my door lock, right? And you have it on camera like that my kids' stuff is safe. It's locked in there. Of course, but you guys were already in the room, so I just want to make sure that no one else can get in and take any of my children's stuff. The charge that I'm being arrested for is child endangerment and their father is being charged with the same thing. Even though it's my hotel room and I stay there. You both are the parents, aren't you? >> When you run my name, are you able to see that I've been charged with anything? >> Yep, it's on here. So, can you inform me of what I've been charged with besides today? No. >> Police officers can put a charge on you, right? But it has to be The judge is the one that makes ultimate determination, right? Jury or judge? I'm learning something. I didn't know that. I just I've normally had judges every court case I had, so to think I wanted to join police academy. This is crazy, man. This is crazy. It's better to join them cuz you can't beat them in this world. Both parents were charged with two counts of child endangerment. Under Illinois law, each could face up to 2 years in jail and fines of up to $5,000 for each charge. Being a parent means more than giving birth. It means keeping children safe at all times, whether from neglect or hardship. Leaving them alone for hours poses serious risks. In New Mexico, what seemed like a small act, leaving the car for a few minutes to buy chips, quickly turned into a serious legal matter. The mom's in the store. On June 17th, 2025 in Albuquerque, a child was temporarily left unattended in a vehicle during extremely hot weather with the engine off while the mother went into a store. Someone noticed the danger and called the police. Minutes later, officers arrived and took a statement from the witness. Did you call us, ma'am? I did. So, I walked out of the store So, I walked out of the store when I heard the little boy screaming and screaming and crying. >> Which car is he in? He's in the the black Volkswagen. Okay. I know. [Music] Sam Allen. I'm out with a 10-30, copy plate and start me 43 to check him. 55 right now. I have a plate 050 Tom 2019. Yes, ma'am. 43 to check him out, please. How long would you say he was in there, ma'am? Um I had just walked out, probably about 4 minutes. I don't know. From what I saw, about 4 minutes. I don't know how long she had seen him for in there. >> I was right before you, like maybe a minute before her. So, probably about 4 or 5 minutes. What's your name, please? Now, what's a good phone number for you? Um I just have a new number. I'm so sorry. Let me see. Um I'm going to see if I have it. Dude, I don't even 10-4. But this kid was sweating a lot, so I'm going to have 43 check him. Sorry, I'm trying to see if I can find my number. It should be in here somewhere. Okay. The mother soon appeared, claiming she had only been gone briefly and initially seemed fully cooperative with the police. Hey, ma'am. Sergeant Irwin with APD. Hey, how are you? Oh, you want to go to the bathroom? Did you go yet? Um how old is he? He's 3. Him and Carl in there. I know, but I was just running in for chips and walking right back out. I didn't realize there was a line. Then I was coming right back out and that's when the cash register said and I came out. You and Carl in there. I think it's illegal and you may possibly get yourself in a situation a criminal situation with your kids. Do you have his D on your phone? No, I don't. I I live right here. I can give you my name, give you our address, everything. I'm going to have arresting come and check him out cuz they said he was sweaty. It won't cost you anything, but they're going to check him out, okay? >> they saw this and markers, so she's like, "He's red." Like, "Okay, well, I just I literally checked the cameras I walked just in there." I can take Well, she's red, she has glass. No. What's your name, please? And what's your birthday? 1990. What's a good phone number for you? I [Music] It's okay, tomorrow. Just have some at home cuz we live right across the street. Well, I'm here. Yeah. Okay. What's really going on? Okay. There you go. There you go. >> name? He's 3. He's mostly Spanish. Mostly Spanish, okay. Come with me now. Okay, so much smoke. Don't freak people out. The reason we're here is cuz someone reported he was in the car by himself. Yeah. Yeah, I ran for chips and I was coming right Try to avoid that. Don't try to go in and out with summertime heat that's 97 degrees. Yeah, I know. And the car is going to be a lot warmer than 97. What if somebody tried to steal your car and took him with That happens in this area all the time. I had him in the car. Yeah. Not stolen, but just think of this as like a It could have been a lot worse. So, probably best to just next time take him with you even if you're in there for 30 seconds. But just avoid all this. However, statements from store employees did not match the mother's account. Oh, she's out there, right? Okay. Yeah, cuz I doubt it was 3 or 4 minutes. Hey, ma'am. Just sorry to bother you. The female with the child that the car Yes, yes. >> Do we know how long she was in here for? I couldn't say exactly cuz I didn't see when she came in. I know when I stepped out, she wasn't out there. Probably maybe 5 minutes, maybe not even. So, about maybe 10 minutes? Maybe. Yeah, cuz by the time she came in and got what she wanted, you know, and then came back out. So. No, you can't give me that. Oh, sure. Yeah. Sorry, guys. Excuse me. Are you the one that found the child? Yes. I walked out and we could hear him crying and screaming in the car. Kids crying and screaming? Yeah, and I was trying to look through the car cuz it's dark, so it was hard to see and he was sitting in the back in like a little booster seat. Okay. And then that's when the customer walked out. She had her phone, so she called. Got away. Then I went out there. By the time you guys came, almost 5 minutes, maybe, maybe not quite. And then um cuz I told them, "Hey, there's somebody out here in the counter." Inside and told her she should go outside and she didn't. At the same time, the child's condition was more concerning than the mother had reported. Oh, so she didn't go outside, either. >> Not right away. Right. Yeah. All right. How you doing, ma'am? Uh we're hanging in there. How are you? Uh hanging in there. I didn't really get to see the baby. Um I went outside, she was out there. She told me it was red and screaming and crying. And so, we came in. As I walked back through the doors, Rodney, who's in liquor, kind of made an announcement the mother was in line in liquor and she goes, "That's my kid. He's fine." and remained in line. So, that's when I went back out and checked again and I came back in and I said, "Ma'am, I said there's a customer calling 911. I said you need to get outside with your kid." She goes, "Why? He's fine. That's marker on his face. He's not red. He's fine." And I said, "You need to get outside with your kid just in" so she left and that's all I That's the only interaction I really had. And once we made the announcement that there was a kid outside in a car by himself >> Definitely. >> she was still No, not at first. She was going to stay in line. It wasn't until I came back in and found her in line and went up to her personally and said, "Ma'am, they're calling 911 on your child right now. You need to go." The investigation progressed with the collaboration of store employees, including providing security camera footage. Do we know about how long she was in the store for? I just kind of want to watch the camera. Um I can check the camera. Yeah. Yeah, she's claiming 2 or 3 minutes. Yeah, I only got a little bit of a look at her Jessica said. Yeah, yeah, I couldn't miss I was running with cash so I couldn't like really go outside. And I don't need to identify you guys as a data Oregon so if either one of you got to get out of that, that's okay. Oh, no, no. I mean she saw us. Yeah, I don't work here. She was already telling me, you know, Yeah, I could tell something was going on and so I sent another employee out and said, "Can you check and make sure Jessica's okay because I can kind of hear her yelling at them but I can't go because I'm at the register and have money in my pocket. So, >> And that's when she said the police are here. So, I was like, "Okay, as long as Did you say you're the one that saw him really sweaty? >> He looked really red and it's hard to tell cuz the car is so dark but he looked red. You could kind of see him red a little bit of sweaty on him. I mean it's a hot day. You're going to sweat instantly. It's hot in here, you know. >> Was there vomit on his clothes, too, or I didn't see him when he got I thought someone said that he may have vomited. There's something on his clothes back in there what it was. It didn't look like vomit. Looked like pee or something. Something like that. Once we were standing there then he kind of calmed down but he was screaming like frantic and then he was alone, you know, and it's hot and he doesn't know what's going on so >> Do you think the grandma might have been I agree. calling taking him away? We're not taking him away but calling to take him with family members, put him with another family? Like this. But Yeah. I don't even know what It was probably about I just I'm going to do a 72. 17. We're already at 6:30. I'll summon her. Okay. I'll summon her for child We're going to be here for a minute. That's okay. Cuz she lives around the corner but I'm not giving her in the car so you can just Oh, okay. We'll do it We'll do it all here. Yeah, we're going to be outside for for a few hours. It's probably before that kid cuz he was the one who went to photo that I was helping. So, I came in right before that so maybe 10 15 minutes before. We'll see cuz if it's she's on here longer than 2 or 3 minutes Is that her car right there? Yeah, that's her car. And that's they are pulling up so they would have to be before that. >> in here longer than 3 or 4 minutes like she's claiming then I'll do child neglect. If she's in here 10 minutes Well, and I'll tell you she was willing to stay. She was back in the line. So, that's what I'm going to confront you cuz first side of the story is that she got notified while she was shopping and then came out. So, she was only in for 2 or 3 minutes. >> No, cuz she was still Rodney said something to me about when she said it over the earpiece he said it out loud and the lady announced, "I'm the mother." and then I went outside and checked, came back in and she was still standing in line even after telling my employee she was the mother. I asked Rodney, "Who said she was the mom because she's still in here?" Mhm. And he said, "Yeah, that's her in the line." So, I walked around to the back of the line, scooted my way through and said, "Ma'am, they're going to call 911. They're outside right now notifying the police." And she's like, "Why?" Every small detail was recorded and analyzed. At this point, the actual time may have been longer than the mother's statement. Yeah, cuz I don't need that kid to get scolded when he gets home. That's what I'm worried about, too, cuz she was talking to him something in Spanish but it was quiet and That's at 8:17. There she comes. So, 8:17. We'll say She goes shopping. There she And to be on the other side not to the liquor. Customer service needed in the battery department. Yeah, she goes all right. That's when I went Cuz I was delivering that order. Going on 3 minutes. 20 And I thought that was her sign and then she walked in so I said, "Well, no, then it can't be." There's the customer. 2 minutes. There's Geraldine going out. There's me going out and talking to them. We're at 4 minutes. >> Coming back in. I'll show you the bottom. Yeah, I want to show you the bottom. Needed in the battery department. >> This is where we were talking to, right? She's basically saying that she's coming up to the front. >> even outside yet. No, but she's still saying there she is. About 18 22 and So, we're at 5 minutes and 10 seconds till she's in the store. And that was him out when she first went outside. She didn't open the door. >> Yeah, she just opened the door and left him in the car still even though he was upset. >> And finally told him and she was telling him something but I couldn't hear what. Yeah. Yeah, I can see Okay. So, But yeah, I had to come back in because when he said it when Rodney said it to me over the thing I was like, "Okay." And I heard that, came outside, checked, came back in and said, "Who said that she was the parent?" And he's like, "That lady right there in line." So, I had to come back around to the line and get her out of the line. She was still going to stay and finish her transaction even though she knew we were aware her child was alone. Yeah. He was asked to go to the website. The child was screaming which she didn't tell me though. Okay. Yeah. She told me she said, "Why? There's nothing wrong." And I I finally said, "Ma'am, if you want to I'll ring you up right now and you can go." And she's like, "No, I'll just go to a different store." And that's when she went outside and you >> So, more so she stayed because you showed up then she Yeah, I think she wouldn't have stayed. She was going to go to another store. She was going to leave and go to another store. And she said, "I'm going to go across the street." Yeah. >> And we were like So, she was standing behind the car so she wouldn't leave. Yeah. Cuz she said to me as I I said it cuz I was trying to get her out of line cuz she kept standing there saying, "Well, why? He's fine. That's marker on his face. There's nothing wrong with him." And I finally I came around to the front and I said, "Do any of you mind if I pull her to the front and ring her up real quick and get her out to her child?" And that's when she said, "No, I'm just going to another store." Cuz I made an announcement to make sure that the customer is kind of embarrassed her a little bit. All right. Well, thank you guys. She's bigger than you. You got to drag her out. Don't worry. A discussion at the scene with the prosecutor determined that this act constituted child endangerment under the law. It's not all the same. So, she comes She parks at 8:00 or 6:17. Or 5:17, sorry. 5:17? Sorry, no. 6:17, sorry. She parks at 6:17. She parks and she's in the store like 6:00 something. In the 17 minutes so 6:17 she enters the store. She's shopping in there. They One of the employees comes out and hears baby crying. So, she looks in and she goes, "Oh my god, there's a baby in there. He's red." They make an announcement around 6:19 or like 6:18. So, a minute after they there's a Whose baby's in the car? They identify it's her like around 6:20. I think it's my kid. And then she goes, "Well, he's fine. We'll get you out of the car out of the car." He's fine. He's just crying. So, she refused to leave the line. She didn't come out here till 6:22. So, 5 minutes she was in there. So, about 3 minutes she argued with staff. The only reason why she came out is because she was like, "Fine, I'm not going to I'm just going to She didn't get embarrassed cuz they won't care. She wanted to pay for her stuff." And then cuz they said, "They won't care that she's the manager so they won't care if she skips the line so I can bring her up now so she can go check on her kid." No, never mind. I'm just going to go out there now. The only reason why she stayed is cuz that's a charge of And she opened the door. So, when she opened the door she didn't get him out of the car. She just opened the door and started scolding. So, I think I have enough for child possibly just cuz there was no You didn't show any exigency to get your kid out of line by witnesses. I'm probably going to just I'm going to call CFD. We're going to get him out of here. See if they can get him out and go with a family member. But I'm on the borderline if I want to 16 or not. I don't want to do anything. I I get summoned so at the same time You're going with the city one? Cuz I think Did you go with the state? There has to be a felony. Oh, yeah. So, I mean, do you think it's felony or do you think it's I'll call the DA and ask them. Yeah, I'll call the DA. I'll get the call. I'll get the call the DA. Yeah, if I can. Okay, check your phone for a text. The child's health check results were also reported. So, as far as Does she have any any warrants or any charges or anything with the kid or anything like that? Possibly, yeah. Cuz she left him in the car for 5 She refused to come out and get him out of the car. Cuz I think his kid's in the car. Okay. How about you? Were you guys over here for this or did you No, we were called in on a Always a separate So, who called for her that one? So, they One of the employees came out and they said they heard a baby crying. They looked in the car and they're like, "There's a little kid in there." So, they go inside, they page like, "Who You know, who drives a black Volkswagen with a little kid in it?" She's like, "That's mine." And she argued with them inside for a few minutes like, "I just want to pay for my stuff." She was like refusing to Okay. and her stuff she was going to buy to come out and get her kid. And then she came out when you guys came here or were you do When did the kid actually get out of Around 6:23 is when the kid came out here. Like 6:17 he was in the car. 6:23 they came out and they opened the door. So, when you guys got here he was already out of the car then? Yeah, when we got here around that time he was like that. And then I had given him some water as soon as I got here. Some cold water. He didn't chug it down like crazy. He took like a few sips of it. Okay. What was his temp? I did not I didn't get it. Yeah, so his vitals like are okay. We don't want him to go to the hospital. That's why I was asking you guys cuz she's obviously caregiver so she still has the ability to make that choice whether or not he wants to. But he doesn't have a temp and his vitals are okay. Doesn't look sweaty. Okay. Cuz like I said, we rolled up, gave him some water but he didn't slam it down either What's up? I'll see you After review and discussion, police returned to inform the mother about the possible handling of the case and the next steps. Well, we're going to So, I'm going to ultimately do is I'm going to give you a case number for the police report cuz you got to document it. It's involving a kid, okay? So, if D does get notified about the situation involving a child Yeah. The problem we're having is this cuz we looked at cameras, okay? And I'll talk to witnesses. The problem is when they were telling you that the kid was in the car you stayed in line for a bit before coming out here. That's where it becomes a bit of an issue. Okay. Because you're being notified that your kid's in distress. Even if he's Even if he's just an emotional kid but They didn't say he wasn't distressed. I mean, they're saying that there's a concern of a child in the car and they they identified it's you. And if you're choosing to stay in line and not show exigency, that's where it becomes a problem. But especially with it being a hot weather day and leaving your kid in the car. Even if it was cold, it's still illegal to do so. Ultimately, what might end up happening is not jail time but I have to call the DA cuz more than likely you're going to get summoned for charged Okay. the child neglect, okay? What's going to ultimately happen if that's the case, it's just a summons. You're not going to go in handcuffs or anything like that. It's just a summons charge just to get a court date, okay? And the charge would be a misdemeanor. What is going to happen is I'm going to go after this. If that's how it goes, I'm going to follow you to your home and conduct a home visit. Make sure the home is deemed safe and and obviously comfortable for a child cuz I have to. I'm not searching your house. I'm not going through cabinets or anything like that. The home visit is going to consist of this. We go to the home, you just show me the house in general, where he sleeps, and that the home has food, running water, and power. If his room is a mess like a child, I'm not worried about it. If it's like a little kid's room, you know what I mean? Cuz people are like it needs to be spick-and-span. It doesn't have to be. As long as there's no safety hazards, it's not like feces all over the place like something gross like that. And then it should go smooth. Home visits usually can if they're if they're pretty average in and out in like a minute or so. Yeah, I understand. However, in a legal discussion with the prosecutor's office, the police's initial conclusion appeared to have several gaps. Do we have the state felony charge or would that be misdemeanor? Well, I was I was actually just looking at the felony right now, which is and I'm looking at subsection D. Mhm. Who knowingly abuses child custody if a person knowingly and intentionally knowingly, negligently, and without justifiable cause permitting a child to be placed in a situation that may endanger the life or health. I mean, well, she she was going into an errand, but she had no reason to put the child in the car, right? Cuz Yeah, cuz she said that when I asked her originally, I was like, "Hey, was there a reason the kid was left in the car?" And she didn't complain. She goes, "Well, I just wanted to go grab something in and out and come back out." Cuz she was like, "Well, I was only in there for 3 or 2 minutes." So, I had obviously verify that. Turns out she was in there for 5 minutes, but she didn't have a valid reason to just leave in the car. >> Yeah, subsection D 3 exposed to the inclemency of of the weather, I think you have enough for the felony. Talked to the DA, they said it's felony. They said because subsection D, she didn't knowingly put the kiddo in that predicament. I told him, I was like, "Hey, the windows were cracked." Cuz she goes, "Well, she writes in there. It says subsection D is knowingly putting a child." She goes, "Well, so once she got notified that your kid's in distress, and she chose to stay in line, she goes, "That's Um sorry. Is that a moth? Yeah. No, it's in there now. It's It's whatever. She goes, "Once she like knowingly did that, um it becomes felony. That's subsection D." Okay, so Again, though, she read statute. She's not here. It's up to you, though. If we If we called the DA and they said it's felony The DA said it's felony. Yeah. I can't justify not Not doing felony. Arresting her now. Yeah. Luckily, I did ask her sister's home her her other sister. So, there's somewhere for the kid to be. So, what we can do is So, let's do this. That way we don't 16 her in front of the kid. Yeah. Let's just say, "Hey, we're going to go do the home visit." And then once we get there, we'll separate kiddo from mom. And then do it from there. So, here's where we're at, okay? Unfortunately, based on what happened today, um that is a felony offense. I looked at my case. So, you are under arrest. We don't want to put you in handcuffs in front of kiddo. We want to make this as smooth as possible, okay? So, you are under arrest at this point. What we're going to do is we'll put you in handcuffs, we'll put you in the back of the car. We're going to speak Are you okay with your sister Yeah. watching your kiddo? Mhm. Okay. So, we'll do that. We just have to do background checks on them with their CYFD. So, we have to get their information, both your sister and her >> How many days am I going to be in jail? There's no promises about this. Most likely just for tonight. Probably be released tomorrow. That is up to a judge. However, most people do just go for the night, and then they get out the next day. Though initially considered for administrative action, the case was elevated to a felony. The mother was taken into custody, but police handled it carefully to protect the child's well-being. This is but in the decision that's being made is being done at the direction of the the district attorney after he was given the facts of the case. Correct. And another thing, too, just cuz you work in the You have your nursing license or something like that, is that correct? You have your medical license or something? Well, the problem is it's a I'm a certified technician. It's a felony. You're charged with a felony. So, more than likely, that's something that's going to be a felony charge. We don't call the hospital. We don't call you in. Yeah, it's up to us to tell. Yeah, but I'm just I'm just saying it out loud, but it's a felony charge. Just based off what made it felony. Cuz it misdemeanor is because when you were notified about what was going on through our employees, made aware of it through witnesses, you chose to stay in line a little bit more. That's when you were being notified of child in distress, and you chose to kind of put that on delay, and then that's where it became a felony. Now, subsection D of the charge, that was read to me by the DA. And it's all in there. I know that phone call was important. Um again, that is me giving you the probable cause based off that phone call. I have a question before we begin. No, and I just give my my stuff to my sister. We can do that for you. Yeah, so right now, let's walk to the car, okay? You can take that if you'd like. It's up to you. You can take your phone. I don't know. I need her Okay. I mean, I'm not going to lie to you. I would keep your phone with you. We can probably work on getting an a random number down in a bit. When you get Have you been You've never been arrested, right? Yes, I am. Okay. So, yeah, you're you're going to get bailed out and dropped off downtown. They don't have phones available for you to use. Oh, then let me use my own. When you get released, yeah. You're not allowed. >> Oh, I see. Yeah, when you get released, it's best to have it with you so you can make a phone call for your sister to pick you up from Again, it's your call, but you can you can take it with you. No, cuz then Yeah. So, let's walk to this car right here by the curb, okay? What's that? Can I get my glasses instead of my contacts cuz I don't Yeah, we can grab that for you. Let's just walk to the car for now, okay? Like I said, I don't want uh I really prefer if your kid didn't have to see, you know, the handcuffing or, you know, anything like that. So, just go and put your hands behind your back, okay? Do you want to stay here? I'll take it. I'll take it. Sorry. Let's go take it off. Thanks. Do you have any medical equipment on you that Okay. No syringes or anything like that. Okay. Well, if you need to, you can I just put it in your pocket. Should be good. The good news is that throughout the encounter, the mother fully cooperated with police, even when being placed in the vehicle. Okay, we do have to do a full search, okay? So, everything will come out of your pockets. No needles, no nothing sharp, nothing like that. No, I don't want to put it in my pocket. Dollars? Can you hold it for Probably around Okay. You want them to stay with you or Okay. All right, good. She's going on this side. Nothing in your bra? I just have to check this back pocket, okay? Same with this one. Okay, then I do have to check uh your chest area with the back side of my hand. Nothing you keep in your bra normally? I'll see in the back real quick, okay? Put this in your purse, okay? The mother was charged with third-degree child endangerment. Under New Mexico law, she could face up to 3 years in prison and fines of up to $5,000. Even just a few minutes, leaving a child alone in a hot car can be extremely dangerous. A moment of inattention can lead to serious risks. There are parents who sacrifice everything for their children. However, some believe that teaching independence meant leaving a 12-year-old child at home for 24 hours straight with no supervision, no one knowing, and no one caring. We have to do a deprivation cuz I mean, he's home for 24 hours, and then from the sounds of it, she's just saying it's not a big deal. On November 25th, 2024, an emergency call prompted officers in Columbia, Georgia to respond to a home after receiving a report that a 12-year-old child had been unattended for nearly 22 hours. They quickly arrived at the scene, and just as expected, the mother still hadn't returned. So, this is my open case over Columbia County, but this child has been home since last night. He's only 12 years old. Mom is still not here. Okay. >> Mom is Mom admitted, yes, he stayed at home by himself. Okay. She said he's old enough. He's 12. He's not old enough. Yeah, not not for 24 hours. So, the house smelled loud. He was going to cook last night. And he was So, what? So, he had a stove on. Grandma's going to take him. Where's mom at? Oh, she's still not here. She said she's in Thompson. She is She's acting very normal, like this is fine. So, we just take a warrant out on her for deprivation of a minor, then? Please. Yeah, that works. Her name is Ms. Brittany Bowles. So, who's going to take the child as far as custody? >> Grandma's going to take Yeah, grandma's going to take him, and it's going to be a no and we're going to put in that mom cannot pick him up. Yes, this 12-year-old boy had been managing on his own, even preparing food using the oven like an adult. If something that happens, do you do you stay by yourself all the time? I stay home with my mom and my dad. Okay. Do you have any other siblings, or is it just you? Uh my sister, but she's staying with my mom. Okay. How old is your sister? She's 3. Okay. Does she ever leave you with your sister as well? No. But there is a court What um has custody per the court order? Well, no, I'm about to do a safety plan. Okay. Because this just happened today where she left a minor at home all night by herself. We're putting in place that she cannot pick him up. What's her name? Brittany. Any conditions of the house or anything? I have not been in the house today. Could you go in the house? Could you see anything? He just came to the door, and that's how I told him that she was told was off cuz I spoke What was you cooking? I was cooking uh TV dinner. On stove? No. Oh, in stove? In the oven. Oh, okay. >> You didn't have any You didn't have it still in the box, did you? You know, the issue is really why everybody's here is because you just can't leave you that long. If something was to happen, yeah. You didn't do nothing wrong, but she can't just do that, you know? There's There's issues and there's laws and things like that. And even if, you know, she was going to leave, maybe if she would just say, "Hey, go stay at your grandmother's." I mean, at least that's a something to where you're you're, you know, not home by yourself. >> to pick you up at least. When will that be put in place? Um I'm going to I'm going to do everything tonight, yeah. So, if she goes to her house, cuz most likely she's going to try to come pick him up tonight. That's what she already told me. And I already told her that she cannot, but she told me that she's going to do it anyway. When grandma call 911, will it be in the system already so they can pick him up? >> Well, where is Meadow Lane run off of? It's off of Whispering Road. >> Yeah, that's our So, that's that's my area. So, we'll just listen out for the call if we get a call over there. So, don't get yourself in trouble. Make sure that you let her know, "Hey, you can't." And we're going to do everything we have to tonight. We have to do a deprivation cuz I mean, he's home for 24 hours, and then from the sounds of it, she's just saying it's not a big deal. She didn't She actually It doesn't even sound like she's in the car trying to get here now. At this point, she cannot Let me just double-check. Do you know who she would be with in Thompson, or where she would go? Yeah, that's where they said she was in Thompson. Do you know who she would go to? Maybe to hang around or Authorities stepped in. Parental rights were suspended. Custody transferred to the grandmother, and a no-contact order was placed against the mother. What will Brittany Bowles do now? Does she have a car? No. No. She doesn't have a car. Okay. How does she normally get around? Does she have people pick her up? I guess she has friends that pick her >> Okay. Her ex lives in Thompson, but they're in jail, I think. Yeah, best thing to do, though, is if he does try to communicate, call, you know, because it's still You don't want to do interference with custody or anything like that because that's what it could turn into. We don't want that. She just needs to kind of let it temporarily see what they say, and then talk to them and get everything cleared through them first. >> I need you to sign right here and please do not hesitate to call the police tonight. Don't even answer the door. If she start banging on the door, just call the police, okay? That's going to be hard to do though. What do you mean? It's just hard to do. Cuz it's your daughter? >> That's not my daughter. It's not She's not my daughter no matter what. Yeah, you got to understand too though that it's kind of one of those custody things and they put something in place and I understand, you know, it is hard to do but, you know, right is right, wrong is wrong too and she did something wrong and got to be accountable for it, you know what I'm saying? Okay, I have you as a witness, okay. I'm going to call just in case if she Okay. I called the other grandma who has the other child. Okay. Where is that child at? She's in South Carolina. Okay. You have to get in touch with South Carolina D-Fax or I am. Hey Miss Allen. Hi. So Miss Allen, if something's going to happen tonight I'm putting your phone on speaker. I just need I need you to witness that I'm telling you this, okay? So something happened tonight where and he's to have no contact with mom. So that means Is he okay? Yeah, he is okay. He's fine. He was cooking. He's good, baby. He's good. >> Here, say hello to your grandma so she knows you're back. If you want to still pick her up, Ella has to go somewhere else but she is to have no contact with Ella from now on. I understand. So that's where he'll be staying. But he's safe, right? He is safe. We got all his stuff packed. He is safe. He is fine. He got his little charger and stuff. >> the house locked up, right? Go ahead and lock up the house. All right, so I'm not coming down to get her. >> No, ma'am. No contact. Thank you. How long till she gets here is the question. That's the thing. She didn't tell me. She just said Yeah. Okay. Can we call her and see where she's at? It seems she still thought the whole thing was just a warning until facing legal actions. Ma'am, do me a favor real quick. Go ahead and put your hands behind your back. For what? Child endangerment? For my son staying the night for one night at the house by Put your hands behind your back. Yeah. Where can we put these bags? Ma'am, where can we put these bags? >> and stuff probably in my fridge where it should go. >> Okay. You have a key? Yeah, I do. Okay. I can't You locked me up. I mean, you can't get it off of me. Yes, I can. I can cut it off. >> Okay. Yeah. Come here. Come this way. Okay, come this way. All right, I'll see y'all in court. That's cool. Just relax before you go in, okay? I'm going to take this bag off you, all right? All right. So, do we have a key so we can get in and put this stuff inside? >> Yeah, there's a key on my keychain. Okay. Where is your keychain at? In my purse. In your purse, okay. I'm going to go in here and get it. You have no problem with me going in there and getting your key out, all right? It's in the very top zipper. Which one's the door key? Let me see. Do you want to take your money with you and all that? >> My money's in my purse. Do you want to leave it in there? Yeah. That way it don't have to go on a card, okay? I'm just going to Okay. After a series of serious mistakes, the mother still calmly said, "He knew where I was. He can take care of himself." This isn't independence. It's clearly unsafe. [Music] There's food in there but I mean, it's not abundance of food but there is food in there. Yeah, he probably hasn't been eating. Yeah, manageable. Just to let you know you're being charged with deprivation of a minor. 24 hours. I know I know he's 12, right, but 24 hours is responsible or not is too long for a child to be alone even if they're responsible. You know how he's got a bunch of grandparents and things like that. Make arrangements to try to get him there rather than leaving him by himself. He is responsible. He's mature but He knew exactly where I was going. >> Yeah, but but you can't do that. He was also taking care of while I was gone. That don't make no sense. You understand what I'm saying? He's by himself for 24 hours. You can't do that. No, sir, he wasn't alone. He was with family at the time. He made up walking home. He's literally in the neighborhood. There's family that lives there. They're with him, you know, and that wasn't mentioned at all. The only thing is D-Fax has their own set of rules. He said he's been at home for 24 hours by himself. He said you left at 10:00 last night and you called him a couple of times. That's what he said. Actually left my whole hamper of clothes for clean clothes cuz we had no washer and dryer. >> Yeah. Well, for for future references, I would just start taking them to people instead of having people check on them because that's not what he said. He didn't say that either. He's He's old enough though to He's He's old enough to comprehend though especially if I got you but, you know, the problem is D-Fax doesn't look at it like that, okay? But I mean, if you have You have to understand there's guidelines and rules. D-Fax is involved to where you you know, and I know you're not you might not be happy with them but work with them so that you can Yeah. Yeah. And I know it's not the best situation because the the lady who came, the older lady that came to pick him up, she said it would have been hard for her not to open the door. So, you know, it'd be hard for her not to open the door if you came to get him. She agreed. Yeah. Yeah, you know, one thing though is like I say, just you can't him by himself, you know? I mean, you know that now that he is responsible but it's different if he was going to going to be home for like a couple of hours or something but, you know, That was originally, you know, Yeah, but I mean, if you don't have a car, you know, Yeah, but look at it like this. Make sure he's squared away somewhere even if it's not at home, someone that like another adult because his phone he couldn't charge his phone because the the cable's broken. So he wasn't able to charge his phone. Yeah, I got you but these aren't real, are they? Okay. These aren't real? No. Okay, they're plastic. I'll just let them know they're plastic. I mean, so they don't have a a fit about them when they go in. So The mother was charged with contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a minor. According to Georgia code section 16-12-1, she could face up to 12 months in jail or a fine of up to $1,000. Hopefully, this time she understands the difference between independence and the Yeah, I mean, you should be eligible for a bond. Hopefully, if not tonight, tomorrow. I'm doing all the paperwork tonight. You ain't on probation or nothing like that, are you? You on what? Felony or Felony or misdemeanor? Oh, okay. You what? Really? I pulled you over? Yeah, my brakes were out on my motor home really bad on me. Did I write you a ticket? Oh, yeah, but Did I pull you over in that gas station at Lumpkin? You had the shrooms? Yeah. Yeah. You got really lucky. Yeah. Did I send it off? I never heard anything back. I do remember you. Yeah. Yeah, you had that Cadillac. Yeah. Mhm. You said he went to jail. He's there now. I cut you a break that day. Well, we didn't have any test kits. I didn't have a test kit. That's the only thing that saved you. I didn't even know they ran there on me. Yeah, and then one showed up later. Yeah, I do remember you. Probably shouldn't have said anything. I wouldn't have remembered. Once you told me, I said, "Okay, yeah." No one forbids you from earning a living or making mistakes but once you're a parent, you no longer have the right to put yourself first especially when the child can't drive, can't always call for help or fully care for themselves. Ultimately, whether accidental or intentional, these two cases serve as a strong warning to parents. Even brief lapses in supervision can have serious effects on children and lead to legal consequences for caregivers. Always stay aware and cautious as even a small lapse can lead to serious legal consequences. If you found these stories helpful, don't forget to like and subscribe for more in-depth analysis. See you in the next videos. [Music]