Mom charged after kids found roaming parking garage – WFMZ Allentown

BETHLEHEM, Pa. | A New Jersey woman is facing child endangerment charges after allegedly leaving her children unattended in a parking garage, while she looked for their grandmother.

Bethlehem police were dispatched to the Wind Creek Casino about 6 p.m. Jan. 10 for a report of an 8-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl found wandering on the fifth level of the parking garage, according to court records.

The boy told police that he and his sister came to the casino with their mother, Aliyah Smith, and their grandmother. The boy reported that his grandmother went inside to gamble and was gone too long, prompting Smith to go inside to find her, police said.

Smith told the children to wait in the car, while she retrieved their grandmother, according to records. Smith reportedly told police that she thought she had left the kids alone for only about 10 minutes. But police said video surveillance shows they were alone for about 40 minutes before they were found by a witness roaming the parking deck and taken to security.

Smith, of Essex County, N.J., faces two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. District Judge Robert Hawke arraigned the 35-year-old, setting bail at $8,000. Pre-trial services approved a 10 percent cash option, and Smith was released from custody on Jan. 14 after someone posted $800 cash bail on her behalf.

Smith’s next court date is a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 4.