A 24-year-old mother was arrested after three children, including an infant, were left inside a car with keys in the ignition outside a Home Depot in Simi Valley on Monday, officials said.
Yuzaira Reyes, of Simi Valley, was ultimately arrested on suspicion of child endangerment after multiple shoppers and employees at the store’s Simi at the Plaza location contacted authorities out of concern for the children’s welfare around noon, Simi Valley police said in a news release.
Responding officers found a 2-year-old and 7-month-old sitting unrestrained in the car with the oldest child, age 6, was sobbing uncontrollably, authorities said.
One window was rolled down but the vehicle was still “uncomfortably hot,” the news release states, even with the external temperature only in the mid-70s.
Officers were still at the scene when Reyes returned to the vehicle. Based on the children’s condition, they decided to arrest the mother, officials said.
The children have been placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, according to police.
Booking records list the suspect’s name as Yuzaira Reyes Romero.
She was being held on $50,000 bail and scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, March 27, the inmate records show.
