HPD: Couple leaves kids in car outside nightclub

Misty Robinson, Alvin Degar charged with child endangerment

HOUSTON – A couple has been accused of going to a nightclub and leaving two children alone in a car in the parking lot.

Misty Robinson, 34, and Alvin Degar, 30, have been charged with endangering a child.

Houston police said Robinson and Degar were inside Nox Nightclub on Nett near Parker early Wednesday. Detectives said they left Robinson's 3- and 5-year-old children asleep in the backseat of their car.

"It's never a good idea," Children's Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said. "It's actually against the law to leave children seven and younger for more than five minutes alone in a car."

The children were taken to CPS about 4:30 a.m. Olguin said they were crying and hungry.

Olguin said there are options for parents who want to go out at night to keep their children safe.

"There are drop-in day care centers that operate 24 hours a day," she said.

CPS officials said the children would remain in their care until they can determine if the children should be placed with relatives or in foster care.

Police said the night could have ended violently for the children and everyone else at the nightclub. Investigators said weapons were found in the parking lot after officers overheard some patrons threaten to open fire in the nightclub after they were thrown out because of their attire.