Yosemite Joy
Mar 12, 2008, 08:03 PM
Is leaving child in locked car child endangerment?
TRIAL | 2-year-old slept while mom put coins in kettle
March 5, 2008
BY MICHAEL DRAKULICH SouthtownStar
A charitable gesture turned into a nightmare for Treffly Coyne in December when she was arrested outside a Crestwood Wal-Mart and charged with child endangerment and obstruction of justice.
The Tinley Park woman will stand trial next week. She's accused of leaving her 2-year-old daughter in her locked car while she took her two other kids and a neighbor's child about 30 feet away to put money in a Salvation Army bell-ringer's kettle.
The incident has spurred thousands of posts on Internet message boards, some calling Coyne a terrible parent and others saying Crestwood Police overreacted.
The case raises questions on how long a child has to be out of a parent's sight to constitute child endangerment.
"If I blink, does that mean I wasn't watching," asked Tim Janecyk, Coyne's husband. "I think we have a great chance. We've seen the evidence and when it comes out, she'll be exonerated. I think we'll get a fair shake here."
Coyne took her three daughters and a neighbor's child to Wal-Mart on an icy night so her kids could donate money they had collected for the Salvation Army.
When she drove up to the Wal-Mart entrance, her 2-year-old daughter was asleep, so Coyne left her in her car seat, locked the car, and walked with the other kids to the Salvation Army kettle.
A minute or two later, as they walked back to the car, a Crestwood community service officer told her she was under arrest for child endangerment.
Coyne's attorney, Michelle Forbes, said the law gives police discretion in such cases.
"The statute states that if the child is under 14 years old, it should not be out of sight of the parent. We argue that the child was never out of sight," she said.
Sun-Times News Group
So what do you think? Did these particular circumstances warrant an arrest? Yes, it is in the CA Vehicle Code.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=38090118783+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
TRIAL | 2-year-old slept while mom put coins in kettle
March 5, 2008
BY MICHAEL DRAKULICH SouthtownStar
A charitable gesture turned into a nightmare for Treffly Coyne in December when she was arrested outside a Crestwood Wal-Mart and charged with child endangerment and obstruction of justice.
The Tinley Park woman will stand trial next week. She's accused of leaving her 2-year-old daughter in her locked car while she took her two other kids and a neighbor's child about 30 feet away to put money in a Salvation Army bell-ringer's kettle.
The incident has spurred thousands of posts on Internet message boards, some calling Coyne a terrible parent and others saying Crestwood Police overreacted.
The case raises questions on how long a child has to be out of a parent's sight to constitute child endangerment.
"If I blink, does that mean I wasn't watching," asked Tim Janecyk, Coyne's husband. "I think we have a great chance. We've seen the evidence and when it comes out, she'll be exonerated. I think we'll get a fair shake here."
Coyne took her three daughters and a neighbor's child to Wal-Mart on an icy night so her kids could donate money they had collected for the Salvation Army.
When she drove up to the Wal-Mart entrance, her 2-year-old daughter was asleep, so Coyne left her in her car seat, locked the car, and walked with the other kids to the Salvation Army kettle.
A minute or two later, as they walked back to the car, a Crestwood community service officer told her she was under arrest for child endangerment.
Coyne's attorney, Michelle Forbes, said the law gives police discretion in such cases.
"The statute states that if the child is under 14 years old, it should not be out of sight of the parent. We argue that the child was never out of sight," she said.
Sun-Times News Group
So what do you think? Did these particular circumstances warrant an arrest? Yes, it is in the CA Vehicle Code.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=38090118783+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve