BAYTOWN, Texas – Two people were arrested on charges for child endangerment and abandoning on Monday.
Verenice Moran, 18, and Yonatan Vasquez, 23, face charges after police said they left a 1-year-old boy and a 3-month-old boy in a truck in a Walmart parking lot while they went inside to buy groceries.
"It's a recipe for disaster, it's something you wouldn't think that two responsible parents would do," Lt. Steve Dorris, Baytown Police Department, said.
Police were called out to a Baytown Walmart around 12:30 a.m. for a report of children left alone in a car.
Once they arrived, investigators said they found the children still in their car seats alone in a truck with the engine running.
"When you're in a city like this, anything can happen. You know, so, that's not right. You shouldn't do kids like that," parent Deidre Reed said.
Moran and Vasquez were eventually tracked down by police as they exited the store.
"In talking with the parents, they said one of the children were sick so they didn't want to take them inside, they said they had only been inside for 15 or 20 minutes," Dorris said.
After investigating, police said it was determined the children had been alone in the truck for closer to 40 minutes.
The couple were arrested and taken to jail. The children were later released to other family members.
We dropped by the couple's home for a comment about what happened, but no one ever answered the door.
"I feel sorry (for) them that they made bad choices, but at the end of the day, you have to start making wise decisions, especially in this day in time because too many crazy things are happening," said Reed.