John Jefferson
Background: The Hollywood Casino Toledo in Toledo, Ohio (Google Maps). Inset: Shaneja Gamble (Lucas County Corrections Center).
An Ohio woman has been charged with endangering her children after she allegedly left them in the freezing cold parking lot of a casino.
Shaneja Gamble, 22, was arrested on Jan. 5 after security guards at the Hollywood Casino Toledo spotted two children alone in a car in the casino’s parking structure. According to the arrest affidavit, they alerted an off-duty police officer with the Toledo Police Department.
While the affidavit did not specify how the security guards and off-duty officer found Gamble, nor did it indicate what Gamble was doing while she allegedly left her children alone, the young mother was tracked down and arrested. The ages of the children were not provided. Gamble was booked into the Lucas County Corrections Center the same day.
More from Law&Crime: Couple left 6-year-old daughter in below-freezing car while they gambled at casino: Police
The affidavit stated that the air temperature on Jan. 5 in Toledo was 26 degrees. The car was not running and was unlocked when the officer arrived. Information about the condition of the children or whose care they are under was not provided.
On Jan. 6, Gamble appeared for her arraignment and was released on her own recognizance, according to court records. She pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering children and creating a substantial risk to their health or safety. Her next court date did not appear on court records.
Law&Crime previously reported about a Brooklyn-based couple who allegedly left their 6-year-old in their car in the parking lot of a Pennsylvania casino in late December, also during below-freezing temperatures. Another young mother allegedly left her baby at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, the same week.
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