Inset: Jason Matthew Eddy (Ephrata Police Department). Background: The Pennsylvania convenience store where Eddy allegedly left his son alone in a car to gamble on a skill machine (Google Maps).
A 39-year-old Pennsylvania man is facing a criminal charge after his 7-year-old son reportedly called 911 to alert authorities that his father had abandoned him in a vehicle to play gambling machines inside a convenience store.
Jason Matthew Eddy was taken into custody last month and charged with one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child, authorities announced. Police identified the 911 caller as a young boy who told dispatchers with Lancaster County-Wide Communications that his father had left him alone for an extended period.
According to a news release from the Ephrata Police Department, officers responded to a call at the Ephrata Food Mart and Smokeshop in the 100 block of South Reading Road at approximately 5:19 p.m. regarding a call about a child being left unattended in a vehicle. The Lancaster County store is about 65 miles west of Philadelphia.
Upon arrival, first responders located the boy and Eddy still at the store. When confronted by law enforcement, Eddy allegedly attempted to explain his long absence by citing a maintenance emergency, claiming he had "experienced issues with the business's restroom which he tried to fix." The incident, he said, delayed his return to the car.
However, police said video surveillance from the establishment told a significantly different story, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PennLive.
The document said footage from the store showed Eddy entering the business at 4:24 p.m. and spending the next hour and three minutes playing "skill machines" while his child remained outside in the vehicle. Skill machines are slot machine-style gaming terminals typically found in convenience stores, gas stations, bars, smoke shops, and social clubs in Pennsylvania.
The surveillance record shows that Eddy finally left the convenience store at 5:27 p.m., after 63 minutes of playtime on the gambling machine while his son was alone.
Police further noted that the 7-year-old placed the 911 call for help, reportedly telling the dispatcher his father had left him alone.
Eddy was formally charged on March 29 following the review of the surveillance evidence. He appeared before Magisterial District Judge Torrey J. Landis and was released on $5,000 unsecured bail. He is currently scheduled to appear for a formal arraignment on May 22, court records show.