Dunkin Donuts Employee Leaves Kids Home Alone for 8-Hour Shift

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]I'm always here. I'm always helping. I'm always here. I always drop everything.

[00:00:02]Be like, "Okay." And then you come here just to screw me over and like help me.

[00:00:06]>> Three young miners were found home alone after police responded to a welfare check. The situation would eventually lead to a serious legal encounter for the mother involved.

[00:00:20]On March 6th, 2025, after officers arrived for the requested check, they heard voices from inside the reported apartment. The officers guided the miners to open the door and they eventually made contact.

[00:00:37]>> Let the police.

[00:00:43]>> The police.

[00:00:46]>> It's the police.

[00:00:52]Okay.

[00:00:57]>> Huh?

[00:00:59]>> Okay. So, open it.

[00:01:01]>> Open it.

[00:01:06]Unlock the top door. The top one.

[00:01:10]Huh?

[00:01:14]>> Is it open?

[00:01:16]>> Open it.

[00:01:20]>> Hello.

[00:01:21]Do the top lock.

[00:01:25]>> Now open it. There we go.

[00:01:27]>> Yay.

[00:01:29]>> Hi.

[00:01:30]>> Hi. Where's your mommy?

[00:01:32]>> Huh?

[00:01:32]>> Where's your mommy?

[00:01:33]>> Rick. And >> where's where's your dad?

[00:01:36]>> At my uncle house.

[00:01:37]>> The refrigerator had almost nothing in it. According to reports, after confirming the oldest understood the difference between right and wrong, officers asked what happened.

[00:01:46]>> Come over here. Put it on the stairs.

[00:01:50]>> What happened? What color is your ball?

[00:01:51]>> She's going to qualify.

[00:01:53]>> Huh?

[00:01:53]>> Huh?

[00:01:54]>> She's going to qualify.

[00:02:01]>> You are a smart little boy.

[00:02:04]>> Yeah. Marshall, I love Paw Patrol.

[00:02:07]>> You want me to take the other ones to color?

[00:02:12]>> Yeah. Right.

[00:02:14]>> Okay. Come over here. Let's sit on the stairs.

[00:02:17]>> You got your ball. What color is your ball? Yellow.

[00:02:21]>> Huh?

[00:02:21]>> Yellow.

[00:02:22]>> Yellow.

[00:02:24]>> If I said that ball was green, is that the truth or a lie?

[00:02:33]>> Lie.

[00:02:34]>> It's a lie. Cuz what color is it?

[00:02:36]>> Yellow.

[00:02:37]>> Yellow.

[00:02:39]>> Yellow. If I said that your shoes right here were yellow, >> is that a truth or a lie?

[00:02:48]>> Lie. It's a lie because what color are they?

[00:02:52]>> Blue.

[00:02:53]>> Blue.

[00:02:54]>> So, so you know the difference between the truth and the lie, huh?

[00:02:59]>> All right.

[00:03:01]>> So, how have you guys been alone for a long time?

[00:03:07]>> Yeah.

[00:03:08]>> What time do you think mommy left >> or did mommy and daddy leave together?

[00:03:15]>> No. Who left first?

[00:03:17]>> My mom. Your mom left first and then daddy left.

[00:03:22]>> A fire truck.

[00:03:23]>> You got a fire truck? Yeah.

[00:03:25]>> She was saying that she left whether or not dad actually made it here.

[00:03:33]>> So So mommy left.

[00:03:36]Mommy left. Then daddy left.

[00:03:40]Were mom did when you woke up this morning. Were mom and dad together? Were you guys all here together? You guys all woke up together. Awesome. And then who left? Mommy left or did daddy leave?

[00:03:53]>> Mom left. Okay. And then daddy left right after mommy.

[00:03:57]>> Yeah. Did daddy say anything when he left?

[00:04:01]>> Yeah, I see that.

[00:04:05]>> He said what?

[00:04:06]>> Going to our uncle house.

[00:04:08]>> Did he say that he was how long he was going to be gone?

[00:04:12]>> No, he didn't say how long he was going to be gone.

[00:04:15]No. And that was Was that a long time ago?

[00:04:19]>> Was that a long time ago that he said he was going to go to your uncle's house?

[00:04:22]>> No. Earlier.

[00:04:23]>> Earlier. Yeah. Okay. And did he ever come back?

[00:04:29]>> Did he come back?

[00:04:31]>> No.

[00:04:32]>> No. He's been gone the whole time.

[00:04:34]>> Yeah.

[00:04:37]>> All right. So, and and did mommy say that Sheila was going to come back?

[00:04:44]Yeah.

[00:04:47]>> She's working still.

[00:04:49]>> She's working still. Do you know where mommy works?

[00:04:52]>> Do you know where mommy works? Where's mommy work?

[00:04:55]>> Dunkin Donuts.

[00:04:56]>> Dunkin' Donuts. Do you know which Dunkin Donuts?

[00:05:02]>> Do you know what street is on?

[00:05:05]>> Bye.

[00:05:07]>> By Lero. You are a smart little boy.

[00:05:10]>> Marshall.

[00:05:11]>> Yeah, Marshall. I love Paw Patrol.

[00:05:14]>> You want me to take the other one to color?

[00:05:17]>> That's all right.

[00:05:18]>> Yeah, I think right.

[00:05:21]>> Your fire truck's behind you, I think.

[00:05:24]Yep. Behind your brother over here.

[00:05:26]Right there.

[00:05:28]>> So, when was the last time you guys had some food?

[00:05:34]>> Early.

[00:05:34]>> Early.

[00:05:36]>> Yeah.

[00:05:38]Does this happen a lot that that you're alone with your brothers >> for a long time?

[00:05:44]>> Not a lot.

[00:05:45]>> Not a lot. Has it happened before?

[00:05:48]>> Yeah.

[00:05:49]>> How many times?

[00:05:52]>> Two.

[00:05:52]>> Two times. You think two times this has happened before?

[00:05:56]Okay. Are you scared?

[00:05:58]>> Have you ever been scared?

[00:06:00]>> No.

[00:06:00]>> No.

[00:06:01]>> Sometimes when I'm in the dark.

[00:06:03]Sometimes when you're in the dark, is mom are mommy and daddy at home whenever you you get scared in the dark?

[00:06:10]>> Yeah.

[00:06:12]>> Okay.

[00:06:14]And when daddy left to go to your uncle's, >> did he tell you there was food or >> did he tell you to call him?

[00:06:23]>> He said we can get two snacks.

[00:06:26]>> He said you can get two snacks. Have you guys gotten your two snacks?

[00:06:29]>> Yeah.

[00:06:30]>> We got um we got um I got a Twinkie and a rollup.

[00:06:36]>> You got a Twinkie and a fruit rollup. I saw those in there.

[00:06:41]>> What did you eat?

[00:06:43]>> A cracker.

[00:06:45]>> You had fruit roll up and a what?

[00:06:47]>> A cracker. Cracker.

[00:06:49]>> A cracker. Are they yummy? Yeah.

[00:06:53]>> Are you guys hungry now?

[00:06:55]>> No.

[00:06:55]>> No.

[00:06:58]>> Yeah, it has pew pew. Yep.

[00:07:02]Okay.

[00:07:04]>> So, do you know how do you know what time mommy left or what time daddy left?

[00:07:10]>> No.

[00:07:11]>> Okay.

[00:07:13]>> So, who put the cereal?

[00:07:15]>> Who put the cereal on the floor? How'd the floor get?

[00:07:19]>> I spilled it.

[00:07:20]>> You spilled it?

[00:07:22]>> Yeah.

[00:07:22]>> Spilled it. And you put the cereal back to the to the sink.

[00:07:26]>> Did you put the cereal in the sink once you were done with it or just left it there? I didn't. I don't.

[00:07:31]>> You didn't.

[00:07:32]>> I have a question for you.

[00:07:36]>> Well, I did have a question for you.

[00:07:38]>> I lost my train of thought.

[00:07:41]Um Oh, if you if someone was trying to get into your house and it wasn't your mommy, daddy, and it wasn't somebody that you knew, >> how could you call the police?

[00:07:54]>> How do you call police? Do you know the number?

[00:07:57]>> No, I don't have the number. You don't have the police number.

[00:08:01]>> So some Do you have a way to >> other than the tablet? Do you have a way to call mommy? Can you call her or does she have to call you?

[00:08:12]>> I call her.

[00:08:13]>> You can call her.

[00:08:15]>> So you call your mom.

[00:08:16]>> She don't know.

[00:08:17]>> Sometimes she doesn't know.

[00:08:19]>> This is somewhere else.

[00:08:20]>> Did you call Did you try and call mom or dad when you were here by yourself?

[00:08:26]>> Yeah.

[00:08:27]>> And what' she say?

[00:08:29]hung up.

[00:08:30]>> She just hung up.

[00:08:32]>> She didn't talk to you.

[00:08:33]>> No, cuz she um make it >> cuz she used to work.

[00:08:37]>> She was um making food.

[00:08:40]>> She was making food. She was making donuts. Do you like donuts?

[00:08:43]>> What's your favorite donut?

[00:08:44]>> What's your favorite donut?

[00:08:46]>> Um chocolate.

[00:08:48]>> Chocolate.

[00:08:49]>> I say strawberry.

[00:08:50]>> Strawberry. Do you like sprinkles?

[00:08:53]>> I like sprinkles, too. Sprinkles are cool.

[00:08:57]Okay. So, you don't know the police number?

[00:09:00]>> No. Would you be scared if somebody was trying to open the door and you didn't know who it was?

[00:09:08]>> You know the police number? What?

[00:09:11]>> I I I don't know.

[00:09:13]>> What is it?

[00:09:14]>> 911.

[00:09:15]>> 911. Would you be able to call 911 on your tablet?

[00:09:19]>> I don't know how to.

[00:09:20]>> You don't know how to call it on your tablet?

[00:09:22]>> iPad.

[00:09:24]The iPad.

[00:09:25]>> iPad. tablet. iPad. You also have a tab a tablet in there. I saw it was orange.

[00:09:32]>> Is that one broken?

[00:09:33]>> No, his is orange.

[00:09:35]>> His is orange. Yeah.

[00:09:37]>> But it doesn't look it glitch.

[00:09:40]>> It glitches.

[00:09:42]>> You are a smart little boy. How old are you?

[00:09:45]>> Six.

[00:09:48]>> Yeah.

[00:09:49]So, do you know how to Does >> Which one is older?

[00:09:57]>> Are they twin? You're the oldest. Are they twins?

[00:10:00]>> No.

[00:10:01]>> No.

[00:10:02]>> Who's older?

[00:10:03]>> Four and a half. Or a half.

[00:10:05]>> Yeah. How old's this one?

[00:10:08]>> And how old's this one?

[00:10:09]>> Four.

[00:10:10]>> Four. Does he know how to use the potty >> by himself?

[00:10:14]>> Okay. So, he's the only one in a diaper.

[00:10:17]Did you have to change his diaper at all?

[00:10:19]>> I did.

[00:10:20]>> You did change his diaper.

[00:10:21]>> Okay.

[00:10:23]>> You did? You're such a good big brother.

[00:10:25]>> He pees in the toilet now.

[00:10:27]>> He does sometimes.

[00:10:30]>> Awesome. You're a good big brother that you changed his Is he a good big brother?

[00:10:36]>> Is he a good big brother? You love your brother.

[00:10:39]>> He's so sweet.

[00:10:40]>> You're super smart.

[00:10:42]>> Okay. My other my other brother um my old dad helped me.

[00:10:49]>> He helped you?

[00:10:50]>> So, it was a team effort, huh?

[00:10:53]>> Do you have any questions for me?

[00:10:56]>> No.

[00:10:57]>> While the officer spoke with the oldest, the mother called on the family iPad.

[00:11:01]The officers instructed her to return home and she arrived about 10 minutes later.

[00:11:05]>> Oh, that's mom right there.

[00:11:11]>> Hello.

[00:11:13]We're just going to have you wait right here. We have a few questions for you.

[00:11:18]>> Or a lot of >> around 8ish.

[00:11:22]>> What time did you >> I don't know.

[00:11:25]>> Guess he usually doesn't work.

[00:11:27]>> No, he doesn't work during the day.

[00:11:29]>> So he >> My son told me that he was at his friend's house.

[00:11:33]>> So cuz it's not making sense. Why would you have to text someone like, "Hey, I'm going to leave you."

[00:11:38]>> I always text him if they're here. That makes no sense. because he I understand it makes sense because he's always walking around and doing something honestly >> in the apartment.

[00:11:48]>> He's he's I was here when I texted while I said that. Yes.

[00:11:50]>> Yes. You were in the apartment but he was not in the apartment when you left.

[00:11:54]>> No, he wasn't >> cuz he was here and probably went I don't know went to do something.

[00:11:58]>> The kids you left the kids in the apartment by themselves >> and you left to work.

[00:12:04]>> So he was not here.

[00:12:05]>> He was not here at that moment. No.

[00:12:07]>> Thank you. That's what we're trying to work around >> around 12:25, 10:30, maybe later.

[00:12:15]>> Cuz you you understand that it's 2025 and everybody's got a cell phone attached to their hip. We can literally track everybody.

[00:12:20]>> I understand that, but I he has no way to contact him and the only number that I have is locked. It's literally locked.

[00:12:26]>> The mother told officers she had gone to work, believing the father would be home, even though he wasn't there when she left. She admitted she knew they were alone, but said she had to go. Soon afterwards, the father arrived home as well.

[00:12:39]>> Are you working or just mom right now?

[00:12:42]>> Cuz I know you guys >> No, I work now. I work at healthy and I work at >> Oh, okay. Awesome.

[00:12:48]>> I was going to say I know you guys just moved here or something.

[00:12:50]>> We just moved here. Yeah. It's just to the point where she just started working and she just think her job is over everything. You risk my job. I'm paying bills. You risk my job. You made me late to work every day. You're not responsible. You come home. Then when you off, you don't be with them. You be gone all day and leave. I barely sleep.

[00:13:05]I have to get off work to come and clean up. I don't know why she ain't asleep.

[00:13:07]It's just like, bro, was like crossroad.

[00:13:10]Where did you guys move from?

[00:13:11]>> We moved from um Crossroads. Well, we I we was at the Crossroads apartment. Then I had to go I had to sacrifice. I had to go be in a room, go be in a a motel room and pay that off. And then I finally just I finally got some leeway through >> south like over by curtains.

[00:13:28]>> Yeah.

[00:13:31]>> Ended up in the room. I had to pay for that by myself. Uh, it's just I'm just to the point where like I'm tired of being screwed over.

[00:13:37]>> Like you need help, but at the same time >> you you got to pay. You don't ask me what bill they'll do or nothing. You just go out and just be out and about.

[00:13:45]You by yourself. You're not about these kids. You're not about helping.

[00:13:48]>> Does she drive or do you drive?

[00:13:49]>> Does she drive?

[00:13:50]>> She drives.

[00:13:50]>> She drives.

[00:13:51]>> Okay. What do you do at Advent Health?

[00:13:53]>> Uh, transporting.

[00:13:55]>> Patient transport.

[00:13:56]>> Oh, okay. So, you have your driver's license, but she just is the one that has the car.

[00:14:00]>> No, I got That's why I was at the courthouse. I had to fix it. I got to fix all of that >> so you can continue working.

[00:14:05]>> Yeah, it's happening.

[00:14:07]>> Got it. Did it get suspended or something?

[00:14:09]>> I believe so because I had a ticket and I can't pay. But then also when I got I had got my car fixed and it broke down on me again. It was like I can't pay for a shirt so I broke down car. So >> I understand.

[00:14:20]I got you. There's a lot of things. How long have you guys been in this apartment?

[00:14:25]>> January.

[00:14:27]>> It's January. Not too long.

[00:14:29]>> That's what I'm saying. Like I had to get the money to move in here, then turn around cuz it was a prorated turn around, pay the first month rent, and then just turn around and pay rent before February 1. Like it's like I do everything. I literally do everything.

[00:14:42]Where's the help?

[00:14:44]>> Do you guys have family members in the area?

[00:14:46]>> We don't cut off.

[00:14:48]>> I don't We don't have no That's the thing. It's like, you know, we don't got no help. You know, we all we got. So why is you leaving me stranded by myself?

[00:15:03]And it's like now he's not even in school. He's not even in school because we was at the room. She picked up and left and went to Lady Wells where her mom stayed and then her mom kicked her out. Her mom kicked her out. And then you who you call me. Me. I'm always here. I'm always helping. I'm always I always drop everything and be like, "Okay." And then you come here just to screw me over and I help me when all I do is look out for you. I'm trying.

[00:15:23]>> So she only took >> No, she took all of them. Oh, she >> just the other the three and four was in daycare.

[00:15:28]>> He was in school. But now I can't even put him back in school because she got to get some kind of form, some withdrawal form from there and she wanted to do that, >> right? I did ask if he was in school.

[00:15:36]>> It's like everything fall on me.

[00:15:37]>> Yeah.

[00:15:39]>> Do you guys have any open DCF cases right now?

[00:15:42]>> No. No.

[00:15:42]>> No.

[00:15:44]>> That was like in 200.

[00:15:47]>> Yeah. Two before the little one.

[00:15:49]>> I think the first one it was like 6 months just for the first.

[00:15:53]>> Yeah. The first it was like 6 months and they hit me with the DV but it was false. Like it was just like >> No, no, I'm talking about DCF.

[00:15:59]>> Oh yeah. Yeah. And when that happened then DC got involved. All that stuff got involved and stuff. That's the last time I dealt with them. Huh.

[00:16:05]>> Where are y'all living?

[00:16:06]>> Oh, Lake Wells.

[00:16:10]>> And we get that. We're not, you know, you have a roof over their head. There is food like those it, you know, it's it's clean other than the cereal that >> that they just ate. Yeah. Well, that and it spilled all over the floor cuz the six-year-old was like, "I accidentally spilled it."

[00:16:27]>> Yeah.

[00:16:27]>> So, I mean, that's that that's not the issue. The issue is that >> you're bodies.

[00:16:39]>> So, and it's not like it was for like 5 minutes, >> 10 minutes.

[00:16:46]>> When y'all were talking, when she texted you earlier, did you tell her like, "Hey, I'm at the courthouse.

[00:16:51]nothing right now.

[00:16:51]>> No, I didn't say nothing. I didn't say nothing because there's no talking to her. It's like, no, it's no talking to her at all. So, I just figured she'll call off work. It's like now I'm just to the point where I'm trying to talk like you jeopardize my job. You jeopardize my job every day.

[00:17:04]>> Based on the children's ages, the lack of supervision, and the unsafe conditions inside the home, officers determined the situation posed serious risks. The mother was taken into custody.

[00:17:16]>> This one's a little tight.

[00:17:20]You're such a piece of [ __ ] You're such a piece of [ __ ] >> Yeah.

[00:17:30]>> You're such a piece of [ __ ] bro.

[00:17:40]>> Yeah, I got it after.

[00:17:44]Go ahead and look that way.

[00:17:49]I scoot over some more.

[00:17:53]>> There's anything inside you? It's an extra charge at the jail.

[00:17:56]>> No, there's nothing. I mean, >> I just tell that to everyone.

[00:17:59]>> The mother was detained. She was eventually charged with child neglect.

[00:18:03]Thankfully, nothing happened to the kids before they could get