San Antonio Police Urge Parents to Take Kids on Errands

San Antonio police are asking residents to bring children along on short errands after a string of arrests for child abandonment. Det. Lisa Lamanna, who works in the Special Victims Unit, said the child’s comfort should come before the parent’s convenience. She suggested that if a parent is running to the corner store, they should take the child with them.

Lamanna spoke about the physical and emotional state of the children in these cases. She noted that the kids are often very scared and sometimes soiled when officers find them alone.

The advice follows a series of arrests in Bexar County earlier this month. Balcones Heights police arrested Mariana Soto Montezuma, 22, earlier this week. An arrest affidavit states that Soto Montezuma left her 5-year-old nephew and 4-year-old niece alone in an apartment on Gentleman Road. A bill collector found the children after the boy opened the door. Police arrested Soto Montezuma when she returned home later.

About a week before that arrest, Bexar County deputies took Shaquitta Evans, 36, into custody. The affidavit says Evans left three children, ages two, eight, and 11, home alone. A neighbor called deputies after one of the children came to her door begging for food. The report indicated the children had access to only canned goods and frozen meat in the house.

The sheriff’s office also announced the arrests of Nataly Perez, 23, and Amber Robisheaux, 40, last month. They allegedly left four children alone while they went on a crime spree. In October, San Antonio police arrested Passion Williams, 28, for leaving four children in the common area of a Northeast side apartment complex.

State law does not set a specific minimum age for leaving a child home alone, but Lamanna said the general recommendation is that children should not be younger than five. When deciding whether to make an arrest, police look at several factors. These include whether the child has access to food and can call for an emergency in a crisis. Lamanna also said officers consider the maturity levels of the children, noting that some 10- and 12-year-olds are less mature than their peers.

Lamanna said she has heard many excuses from adults in similar cases, but she believes there is no real excuse for abandoning a child. She pointed residents to the Department of Family and Protective Services website for resources if they are struggling to find childcare.