MUNCIE, IN — A Muncie mother was arrested on suspicion of neglect after her 3-year-old son — clad only in “a T-shirt and a soiled diaper,” according to an affidavit — was found unattended in a north-side convenience store in the middle of the night.
Kayla Diane Rouse, 34, was being held in the Delaware County Jail under a $6,000 bond, facing a preliminary count of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison.
Rouse was arrested about 4:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 8. An hour earlier, her son was found in the Shell convenience store at 300 E. McGalliard Road.
Muncie police were told the “very young child had entered the store alone, without any parents or guardians present,” according to the affidavit.
Officers searched the neighborhood and found a house in the 300 block of East Berkley Avenue with its front door open, the court document said.
Rouse, determined to be the boy’s mother, was found at that address and “appeared to be impaired,” an officer wrote. She said she was unaware her son had left the home.
Officials with the Indiana Department of Child Services were called to the convenience store.
Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman’s office will determine whether formal charges will be filed against Rouse.
Court records reflect no convictions for the Muncie woman.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie mom arrested after 3-year-old son’s middle-of-the-night walk to convenience store
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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