Case of boy left in car a ‘gray area’ for police

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.

Lawmakers and police are pushing for a law addressing children left unattended in cars, but the suggested legislation would not have applied to a case Sunday in which an 11-year-old boy was left in a car at the Stardust.

In that case, the boy's parents and grandmother gave him water and snacks then went into the casino, where they remained for several hours.

The boy got out of the car several times and was seen walking around the parking lot then returning to the car, Lt. Jeff Carlson of Metro Police's abuse and neglect section said.

The abuse and neglect statute applies to children under 18, so officers could have arrested the parents, but decided instead to submit the case to the district attorney's office to see if child endangerment charges are appropriate.

"He wasn't trapped in the car," Carlson said, pointing out that some parents drop their 11-year-old children off at the movies. "That's the gray area. At what age can kids be left alone?"

There is no law in Nevada that specifically states that leaving a child unattended in a car, in and of itself, equals neglect, authorities noted. The statute defines neglect as a non-accidental physical or mental injury.

An incident that occurred Monday night is more clear-cut, authorities said.

A mother left her 20-month-old child in a sport utility vehicle for about 15 minutes while she went into Albertsons at Eastern Avenue and Warm Springs Road, police said.

Someone spotted the child in the vehicle and called police, who waited for the mother to come out of the store. Police arrested 30-year-old Luci L. Dick on one count of child endangerment.

"Obviously a 20-month-old can't take care of themselves," Carlson said.

Sen. Valerie Weiner, D-Las Vegas, will be proposing a bill in the 2005 Legislature that she expects will be similar to one that failed in the last session.

That bill would have levied a $300 fine against parents who leave a child 7 or younger alone in a vehicle. It would not be a crime if the child is under the supervision of someone who is at least 14 years old.

"I would bet that most if not all of the parents who do this don't get caught the first time it happens," Weiner said.

Carlson supports legislation addressing children left in cars, too. He says police would benefit by having a law clarifying the abuse and neglect statute.

Children have been left in cars six times in the past two weeks.

None of the children suffered serious injuries, but with daytime highs starting to get into the 90s authorities are worried that children will die this summer as a result of being left in hot cars.

A 3-year-old boy was left alone in a Head Start van Wednesday.

On April 20, a woman left her 8-month-old twins alone in a car while she shopped at a store at Eastern and Tropicana avenues.

A woman left her 2-year-old daughter in car in a Henderson shopping center parking lot April 15. The next day, a father left his 1-year-old child alone in a car while he ran into Terrible Herbst on Decatur near U.S. 95. The car was stolen with the child inside but the thief abandoned the car with the child inside minutes later.

Parents were arrested on child endangerment charges in five of the cases. In the Head Start case, an employee was fired and authorities are considering pursuing charges.