Mom who left children in car receives probation

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 | 9:42 a.m.

A 31-year-old mother accused of leaving her two children in a parked car in a northeast Las Vegas strip mall in July 2004 was sentenced to probation on Monday.

District Judge Lee Gates issued a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months to Tina Taylor, who pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse and neglect.

Taylor was originally charged with two counts of child endangerment and will now serve two years probation. She has no criminal record whatsoever and has been a resident of Las Vegas for nine years.

Gates said he was "disappointed" to see Taylor before him in court saying he "can't believe you would leave the kids in the car" knowing how severe the hot weather can be during the summer months in Las Vegas.

Taylor said in a soft voice to Gates that she had learned her lesson from the ordeal.

Taylor's children, a 2-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, were left unattended for about 45 minutes inside a maroon Buick LeSabre, parked in front of a Factory 2-U store at 141 N. Nellis Blvd., near Charleston Boulevard, with the windows rolled up during what was the hottest day of the year, according to police.

On the day of the incident the high was 109, the hottest temperature recorded in the Las Vegas Valley in 2004 at the time, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures inside a sun-baked vehicle can rise as much as 30 degrees higher than the outside temperature, authorities have said.