No arrest, why????

Question

I made a big mistake. left my 1 yr old and 8 yr old in the car because i need to return an item at the store, took us 30 minutes. me and my 4 yr old daughter, came back to find that there was a police officer and a fire men truck. my kids are okae, no harm done. i admitted for my mistake. i have no crimanl history of what so ever. which the officer in the scene had check. they lecture me about my wrong doings. like what i said. "i made an honest mistake" i did not get arrested nor recieve a citation, why is that???? and i remember the officer saying, this is a warning and that not to do it again. it is defintley a lesson learned for me. but there is a report. i have what is called a case number. on the 4th day when i folloewd it up. i was told that it is now at the state attorney and because i was not arrested, it will take about......some said 3 to 4 weeks, and at the sate attorney office said, it will take 5 to 6 weeks to have the case to the hands of the attorney/procecutor.

Answer 1

OK ... so you made a big mistake and got caught.  Where does it go from here?

The State's Attorney has the option of investigating you, including having your neighbors interviewed and having the Child Protective Services do a "home visit" to check for signs of abuse or neglect.  They can also check the 8 yr old's school records.

In the end if they find no evidence of abuse or neglect except for this one incident ... it won't be worth their time to pursue this case any further.  The case would be closed and you would not be charged.

If they find credible witnesses or evidence of abuse or neglect beyond this one incident, they can and probably will prefer charges against you.  Either way you should be informed by the CPS division when the investigation is closed

Answer 2

my parents used to leave me in the car a lot when they went to the store to...I didn't even know you could get in trouble for that...I don't think you will get arrested if they didn't arrest you right then and there...but they could call CPS...and what a pain in the *** those ppl are. That is just a whole new can of worms.

Answer 3

Hi

You need to call the prosecutor's office to see how this will be handled. Although you were not arrested they may still want to fine you. Call the prosecutor's office.

Answer 4

The state attorney is reviewing your case. If they feel there is enough evidence to get a conviction, they will charge you. The crime you committed may not be a priority right now because neither of your kids died, but you could still be charged with neglect and even lose the custody of your kids to the state.

I don't think you can consider yourself in the clear for at least two years. They can file charges at any time. You might consult an attorney, so you will have a defense for when they do.

Answer 5

you do not have to be arrested at the time an incident occurs to have charges filed against you.  the state's attorney's office now has information about your case and it is up to them to investigate and determine if any criminal charges are warranted in this matter.  if they determine that there are, they may issue a warrant for your arrest and the police or sherrif's department will come to execute the warrant.

in your case, you have more to worry about than criminal charges.  If they file anything, it will probably involve some sort of neglect or child endangerment.  if that's the case, child and family services will get involved.  then, you will have to deal with them in regards to the care of your children in addition to going through the legal process with your criminal charges.

i'm not sure where you live, but it's summer time and hot as h**l.  if you leave children in the car for 30 minutes in the heat, there are many dangers associated with that.  not only that, but someone could have kidnapped your children in that time.  you should consider it a blessing that nothing happened to your children.  if you get charged later, it is 100% necessary.

Answer 6

You are not in the clear yet. You yourself said the states attorney is investigating. If they feel charges are warranted, you will be arrested and charged. I fail to see why you where not to begin with.

No, you have not been charged yet. Nothing says you have to be charged on the spot, in fact they can take years to bring charges against you for most crimes. You where told 5-6 weeks. Sometime in that time frame you will be notified as to what is going on. If it comes by letter or phone, you got off. If it comes via two cops at the door, you didn't.

What you did was 100% unacceptable. There is no excuse, no next time. Its one of those things that saying "sorry" won't excuse. A lesson needs to be taught that will ensure that you will never do it again. A one year old in a car? In the summer? Are you out of your mind?

You are lucky I wasn't the cop. Your kids would have been taken away and you would be in jail, no questions asked.

I highly doubt you will get of scott free. I would suggest talking to an attorney. If the state attorney has the case, you will see charges. The evidence is overwhelming and witnessed.