Father leaves his 5 young children alone in car while working at Walmart, SC cops say
A man left his five young children alone in the car while he went to work at Walmart, police say.
Police responded to a call on Monday just before 2 p.m. about children being left alone in a vehicle at a Walmart in Florence, South Carolina, according to a release from the Florence Police Department.
The children were all under the age of 10 and as young as 1-year-old, according to a recently released warrant, and all the windows were down and the car was turned off.
When police went up to the vehicle, the children started crying and told officers their dad had gone inside the Walmart for work at 2 p.m. and that their mother was also working at the same store until 4 p.m., the warrant says.
The father, James Anthony Williams, came out to the car and told officers that his stepson was coming to take care of the children when he got off work at 2 p.m. and that he had only left them alone in the car for a moment, the warrant says.
But police believe the children were alone in the car for at least 15-20 minutes, the warrant says.
It was 93 degrees outside on Monday, the warrant says.
Williams was charged with five counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, and the children were “released to a family member,” the release said.
Williams also had outstanding warrant for second-degree domestic violence, according to the release.
This story was originally published August 15, 2019 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Father leaves his 5 young children alone in car while working at Walmart, SC cops say."
