Insets: Ryan Mullin and May Mullin (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Glendale, Ariz., location where authorities say the Mullins forced their children to walk in 108-degree heat (Google Maps).
An Arizona husband and wife are accused of putting their young children in danger after police say they made them walk for hours in brutal 108-degree heat while the adults were intoxicated and vomiting on the way home from an NFL practice.
Ryan Mullin, 41, and May Mullin, 42, both of Glendale, are facing child abuse charges following an outing to an Arizona Cardinals open practice last weekend, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
Authorities said the incident came to light after a witness contacted police, reporting that Ryan Mullin appeared drunk and was “stumbling and falling over one of the children,” the affidavit states. Officers located the family around 6 p.m. Sunday.
According to the affidavit, May Mullin told police the family had been walking for about three hours and had left for the Cardinals event at approximately 2:40 p.m.
Police said the witness tried to help by offering the family a ride, but the couple declined. The situation then escalated, with Ryan Mullin allegedly becoming angry and striking the witness’s vehicle with his fists, the affidavit says.
The document further states that Ryan Mullin fell and hit his face on the vehicle, leaving him with a cut and blood running down the left side of his face. Investigators noted that he “made it clear” he did not want help getting the children out of the dangerous heat.
The witness also reported seeing May Mullin vomiting and believed she appeared intoxicated as well. At one point, the affidavit says, Ryan Mullin walked away from the children before stumbling and falling over one of them.
When police made contact with the parents, an officer reported that Ryan Mullin “ignored” him when asked to stop walking. The officer “ran up” to Ryan Mullin “at which time he clutched his child by the wrist,” the affidavit says.
“[Ryan Mullin] was extremely unsteady on his feet and appeared extremely intoxicated,” the officer alleges. “I ordered the defendant to release the child but he refused. I then advised the defendant I would escalate force on him if he did not comply. At this time the defendant released the child, prompting me to physically grab him.”
Police say Ryan Mullin resisted and had to be “forced” into handcuffs. A strong odor of alcohol was “emanating from his person,” according to the affidavit, and he allegedly had “slurred speech” and “red, bloodshot eyes.”
Ryan and May Mullin were both arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail. Ryan Mullin was charged with three counts of disorderly conduct for fighting in addition to the child abuse charge.
The couple was released on their own recognizance.
The post Little kids forced to walk in 108-degree heat for hours while their parents were drunk, falling over the children and vomiting — refused ride from good Samaritan, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.
