Inset left to right: Breanna White and Evan White (Parker County Sheriff's Office). Background: The residence where the defendants allegedly left their toddlers home alone at night in Weatherford, Texas (Google Maps).
A mother and father in Texas were arrested after leaving their toddler children alone late at night to go out for drinks at a bar, Lone Star State law enforcement says.
Breanna White, 26, and Evan White, 26, each stand accused of one count of abandoning or endangering a child with intent to return, according to Parker County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The incident occurred Saturday night at a home on Middleton Court in Weatherford, a fast-growing semirural suburb roughly 30 miles west of Fort Worth.
Two minutes after midnight, the Parker County Sheriff's Office received a call "from a concerned citizen" about "two young children that had been left home alone," according to a press release.
Deputies arrived at the residence during the early morning hours on Sunday "to find that there were no adults present at the house, or anywhere else on the property," the sheriff's office said.
By 12:10 a.m., the couple made it back home, according to law enforcement. The group of adults then went into the house together.
Inside, deputies discovered a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl "who had been left unattended" for several hours, authorities said.
After being questioned, the parents allegedly admitted they first left their children "home unattended" earlier that night, at around 8 p.m. on Saturday, so they could go to a local restaurant for dinner.
The couple came back after dinner, the sheriff's office said. But they left again, allegedly leaving the children alone a second time.
"The Whites then told deputies that after they returned home from dinner, they decided to go out to a local bar, again leaving the children home alone," the press release continues. "Due to the very young age of both children involved, it isn't reasonable to believe they could fend for themselves in the absence of a parent or guardian."
The little boy and girl were subsequently removed from the home by Parker County Child Protective Services and placed with family members while the investigation moves forward, authorities said.
Breanna White and Evan White were booked into the Parker County Jail and released the same day on $5,000 surety bonds, records show.
The sheriff commented on the incident.
"[T]here is no greater responsibility than parenting a child, and it's heartbreaking to think that parents would leave their toddlers home alone so mom and dad could go out to the bar," Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier said. "[M]om and dad ended up being babysat themselves at the Parker County Jail for doing just that."
Law&Crime reached out to the sheriff's office for additional details, but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
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