Published: May 15, 2008 11:52 am         

Woman arrested for leaving child in car

A Logansport woman was arrested Wednesday on charges that she left her 2-year-old child unattended in a parked vehicle for about five minutes.

At 2:20 p.m., Logansport police were called to the Cass County Government Building, where a courthouse security guard had discovered a child in the front seat of a car that had been parked with the engine running.

Shortly after the guard discovered the child, an adult male approached the vehicle from North Street and an adult female exited the courthouse. Police questioned 22-year-old Stacey Irene Woolner, the mother of the child.

She reportedly told police she did not think leaving the child in the car was a big deal since she was only going to be inside for a few minutes. She also said that when she left five minutes before, a companion was in the vehicle with the child, who had been belted in a child seat.

The woman’s companion told police he had gone to talk to a friend.

Woolner was arrested on a class D felony charge of neglect of a dependent. If convicted, she faces a sentencing range of six months to three years.

The companion was not arrested. A police officer drove him and the 2-year-old boy to their residence.