Infant twins left in car; mother arrested

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

A mother was arrested Tuesday after her 8-month-old twins were left in a car while she shopped at Burlington Coat Factory at Eastern and Tropicana avenues, Metro Police said.

Kathy Lizanne Lawson, 28, was arrested about 1 p.m. on two counts of child endangerment. She was still being held this morning in the Clark County Detention Center on $6,000 bail. She faces a hearing Thursday morning.

The babies allegedly were left unattended in a black Volkswagen Jetta for at least 30 minutes before shoppers heard them crying around noon and called police, Officer Jose Montoya said.

The car windows were opened slightly, police said. When Lawson returned to the car, police were waiting. When she unlocked the car the babies were warm, police said. The infants were taken to Sunrise Hospital to be examined but appeared to be uninjured, police said.

The temperature in Las Vegas during the time that the twins were left in the car was between 69 and 71 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. But temperatures inside sun-baked parked cars can be 30 to 40 degrees higher than outdoor readings, authorities have said.

Lawson is the third parent in the last week who may face child endangerment charges for leaving children in vehicles.

Angelo Rosa left his 1-year-old child inside his Jeep Grand Cherokee Friday morning while he ran into the Terrible Herbst convenience store on Decatur Boulevard at U.S. 95, police said. The vehicle was stolen while Rosa was in the store.

The thief abandoned the vehicle about a block away in the parking lot of Fasolini's Pizza Cafe at 222 S. Decatur Blvd., police said. The baby was still in the vehicle and appeared unharmed, police said.

Thursday night, Henderson Police arrested 28-year-old Maria Guadalupe Avila after a shopper spotted her 2-year-old daughter crying while alone in a parked car at Costco on Marks Street near the Galleria at Sunset mall.

The district attorney's office is expected to decide this week whether to prosecute Rosa and Avila.

Last year Metro handled 56 cases of parents or caregivers leaving children in cars and at least 12 were prosecuted after investigators determined they had done so purposely.