Santa Barbara County – Anyone knows that toddlers need their naptime, and most parents can frequently predict the time and duration of their child’s sleep cycle. But Bulmaro Reyes, 23, and Petra Zaragoza, 28, apparently don’t fall into the category of “most”, and “frequently” does not mean “always”.
Both Reyes and Zaragoza, parents of a 4-year-old girl, may have expected their daughter to put in a full dose of heavy-duty Z’s at noon on March 11th when they decided that it would be a reasonable idea to leave the child in a parked car deep within the parking structure of the Santa Ynez Valley’s Chumash Casino. Without addressing the general economic wisdom of visiting the popular gambling mecca in the middle of a workday, it was their failure to anticipate the potential for a disturbed sleep pattern in that environment that brought the full force of the law upon them.
After parking the car bearing the sleeping child, both mother and father alighted from the vehicle to partake of the wagering attractions awaiting them inside the air-conditioned casino. According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Public Information Office Kelly Hoover, approximately ten minutes later a passing casino patron observed the child who “was seen leaving the car and looking around for her parents.” The child was taken by the passerby to the casino security office for safekeeping.
A call to the SBSD Solvang station promptly brought uniformed Sheriff’s deputies to the scene, and shortly thereafter Reyes and Zaragoza were located. A brief interview of the parents ensued, whereupon it was determined that “their actions could have resulted in great bodily injury to the child” and both Reyes and Zaragoza were arrested and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of felony child endangerment.
Photos:
Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, Chumash Casino
Read more:
Noozhawk: Parents arrested after 4-year-old found alone outside casino
ABC7: Santa Maria couple allegedly left daughter,4, in car to gamble
CBS13: Pair arrested after girl, 4, found alone in Casino
