Bodycam footage of an unidentified woman arrested in Glendale, Ariz. in March (Glendale Police Department/Facebook).
Two mothers from Arizona attempted to persuade law enforcement that they had only left their children in the parking lot to use the restroom, though they were reportedly consuming alcohol at a bar instead.
The Glendale Police Department shared bodycam footage from the night of March 8, illustrating a tumultuous scene in a parking lot. According to the department’s post, officers were dispatched around 11 p.m. after a caller reported spotting a young child wandering the parking lot without supervision. Witnesses informed the police that they attempted to locate the child’s guardians but couldn’t find any adults nearby.
The child led the witnesses to a car where three more small children sat inside, two of whom were in car seats.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
In the video, the witness told police, “This is [child’s name], we found her going up and down here. She took us to the car.”
As officers searched the vehicle on camera, one discovered a large bag of marijuana, as confirmed in the police report. The discovery prompted the officer to exclaim, “Seriously?” while the sounds of the children crying could be heard in the background.
The officers stated that they searched nearby businesses looking for the children’s parents. About 45 minutes after they arrived at the scene, the two mothers finally returned to the car.
An officer told one of the women, “Hey, your kids have been here for hours.” She responded, “Hours?”
Another officer asked her, “Where have you been?” She said, “I went in to go to the bathroom.”
The woman was informed that her young daughter was seen running around the parking lot and that the car with the other children inside was unlocked.
The other woman also told police that she was in the bathroom, “and then I went to Caramel Cookie,” referring to the Crumbl Cookies store.
The officers continued to try to get a response out of the first mother, who told police that she and her friend “went inside to go to the bathroom,” and “we first went to the Salt bathroom,” referring to the Salt Tacos y Tequila bar and restaurant, according to local CBS affiliate KPHO.
“You went to Salt?” the officer said. “You went to a bar.”
After denying that she did anything but use the bathroom, the first mother admitted, “I mean, we did get a drink…”
When the second mother was asked when she arrived at the bar, she said, slurring her words, “Uhhhhh, 15 minutes ago?”
The first mother became emotional as she attempted to explain that she did not have her phone with her when she went inside the bar. “Please don’t take my kids away from me. Like seriously, they’re the only things I’ve got. I know this is super, super bad.”
Police said that both women, whose names were not released, “smelled like alcohol” and had “slurred speech.” They were both arrested. The children were taken to a nearby hospital by the fire department.
