Las Vegas woman charged after kids left in car for ‘10 minutes’
A Las Vegas woman is facing charges of child abuse and neglect after leaving two children inside a car for 10 minutes while she went to a bank this week.
The incident happened about 6:45 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of an east valley Smith’s, 3850 E. Flamingo Road, near Sandhill Road, according to an arrest report. A security guard at the Smith’s flagged down nearby officers to report two children apparently left in a car.
“The vehicle was surrounded by multiple citizens who were looking into the backseat of the vehicle,” where the children were left, the report reads. It’s unclear how old the children were, though the report describes them as “young.”
After a loud-speaker announcement inside the grocery store, the woman, Mary Lagle, walked out and told police the vehicle was hers and that she knew her kids were inside, adding that the air-conditioning was running.
“While speaking with Lagle, it was apparent that she did not sense the severity of the issue,” the report reads. “Lagle kept asking officers if she was allowed to leave to go back into the store to finish up with her personal banking.”
As a Child Protective Services investigator took custody of the children, the report noted police found an open container and a joint inside the car; Lagle told officers she had one drink and did smoke marijuana before she left for the store, the report reads.
Lagle faces two counts of child abuse and neglect and two counts of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.
Police noted one reason they charged Lagle was because the children were left unattended in an area “which is known for a high crime rate.” The patrol area where the incident occurred actually saw a decrease in violent crime and property crime during the first half of the year, Metropolitan Police Department records show.
On Saturday, a 3-year-old boy died after he was left in a parked car during triple-digit heat for at least an hour. The boy’s family was visiting from out of town and about a dozen children were with the group, police said.
“Unfortunately by the time they figured out what had happened, too much time had already elapsed,” Metro Lt. Roger Price had said, calling the incident a “tragic accident.”
The case is still open, though police said Thursday no charges had been filed.
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.