Insets, from left: Latoya Garland and Mikequisha Gordon (Miami-Dade Corrections). Background: The intersection of NE 7th Avenue and 132nd Street in North Miami, where Garland and Gordon allegedly locked their kids, ages 5 and 7 out of their home (Google Maps).
Two Florida mothers allegedly locked their kids ages 5 and 7 out of the house and told them to go play outside before locking the door and not answering when they knocked.
Mikequisha Gordon, 36, and Latoya Garland, 40, are charged with child abuse.
A school resource officer spotted the unattended kids in the street around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of NE 7th Avenue and 132nd Street in North Miami, a probable cause arrest affidavit said.
The 7-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy later told cops that they were at a nearby apartment complex when their mothers told them to go outside to play. Gordon and Garland allegedly locked them out.
When the kids were tired, they tried to come back inside but their mothers did not let them in, despite them knocking on the door several times.
The kids were reportedly hungry, so they walked to a nearby Publix to try to get some food. They were unable to get any, so they walked back. That's when the school resource officer allegedly saw them.
A neighbor tried to call one of the mothers, but she was not answering. Cops also knocked on the door several times but received no response though, they could hear the phone ringing.
Officers forced their way into the apartment and found Gordon and Garland passed out on the couch. Cops woke them up although they were "sluggish" and appeared to be "impaired by an unknown substance," per the affidavit.
The two defendants were arrested and taken to the Miami-Dade County Jail, where they remain on $2,500 bonds. Their next court dates were not listed.