Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff Department
One woman from Arizona, 23-year-old Artisha Dates, has been charged with 3 counts of child neglect after she left her 3 children inside a car with the engine running, so she could do a spot of shopping at Nordstrom. Priorities, right?
Court documents obtained by AZ Family show that Artisha Dates arrived at the Scottsdale Fashion Square with her 3 children and her cousin. She and the cousin got out of the car, which she left running, while the kids remained behind.
Aged 4, 3 and 2 and completely unrestrained, the kids entertained themselves by lowering the windows and playing with the gear shifter, before a Nordstrom employee and a citizen noticed them inside and came to take them out. They also called the police. The mother was gone for 30 minutes during busy shop hours, so the parking lot was packed.
When the children noticed the strangers outside the car, they rushed into their arms. The eldest told them that they had had breakfast “at a drug house” that morning, and the youngest had a diaper “saturated with urine.” A diaper bag was found inside the car and it also contained the mother’s cell phone, with a dead battery, which is further proof of her neglect.
Dates told the police that she had stopped at Nordstrom because she wanted to buy something for her boyfriend. She didn’t see anything wrong with leaving 3 kids play around unrestrained in a car with the engine running.
Needless to say, leaving a child unattended in a car is dangerous to the child and to others. Whether you turn the engine off or not doesn’t matter because children (duh!) are not supposed to be left unattended no matter where you are or how little time you’re gone. Also, shopping isn’t really that important and should fall at the bottom of the priorities list when it comes to kids' safety.
Aged 4, 3 and 2 and completely unrestrained, the kids entertained themselves by lowering the windows and playing with the gear shifter, before a Nordstrom employee and a citizen noticed them inside and came to take them out. They also called the police. The mother was gone for 30 minutes during busy shop hours, so the parking lot was packed.
When the children noticed the strangers outside the car, they rushed into their arms. The eldest told them that they had had breakfast “at a drug house” that morning, and the youngest had a diaper “saturated with urine.” A diaper bag was found inside the car and it also contained the mother’s cell phone, with a dead battery, which is further proof of her neglect.
Dates told the police that she had stopped at Nordstrom because she wanted to buy something for her boyfriend. She didn’t see anything wrong with leaving 3 kids play around unrestrained in a car with the engine running.
Needless to say, leaving a child unattended in a car is dangerous to the child and to others. Whether you turn the engine off or not doesn’t matter because children (duh!) are not supposed to be left unattended no matter where you are or how little time you’re gone. Also, shopping isn’t really that important and should fall at the bottom of the priorities list when it comes to kids' safety.
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