Ciera Sementhia Washington {BSO}
A Sunrise woman was arrested and charged with three counts of child neglect after police say three children were discovered inside the trunk of her parked car at a Walmart.
According to a Sunrise Police Department arrest report, witnesses in the Walmart parking lot located at 12555 West Sunrise Boulevard reported hearing knocking sounds coming from a gray Nissan Sentra in the store’s parking lot around 3:30 p.m. on September 14. When they approached, they saw a child’s foot sticking through the back seat into the trunk.
Two bystanders opened the car’s unlocked back door and found three young children inside. Police said the vehicle was turned off, its windows rolled up, and no air conditioning was running. The outside temperature at the time was recorded at 82 degrees.
The report shows that the children, described as sweating heavily and in distress, were pulled from the trunk by witnesses. Witnesses told investigators that the youngest two children were found with soiled diapers and feces on their legs.
Sunrise Fire Rescue also responded to the scene to treat the children. One of the children was then taken inside the Walmart in an attempt to locate her mother, who was later identified as Ciera Sementhia Washington, 29, of Sunrise, who exited the store at 3:46 p.m.
Surveillance video reviewed by Sunrise police showed Washington and a friend entering the store at 3:07 p.m. without any children, meaning when bystanders saved the children, they had been inside the vehicle without air conditioning for at least 20 minutes.
When questioned by officers, Washington admitted she had left the children in the car while shopping, instructing her oldest daughter to lock the doors and not let anyone inside. She initially claimed she had left the vehicle running with the air conditioning on, but said she was delayed in the store due to long lines.
Washington was arrested and transported to the Broward County Main Jail. She was later released after posting a $3,000 bond.
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