Mom Leaves Boy In Car At Rivers Casino, Redeems $10 Slot Voucher, Gets Arrested
NORTH SHORE (KDKA)- A local mother is facing charges after allegedly leaving her son alone in the car while she went to the Rivers Casino Tuesday night.
Valerie Snyder, 30, of Tarentum, is facing charges after her 9-year-old son was found alone, inside a car on the sixth floor of the casino's parking garage around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Police were called to the scene and contacted the boy's father to come pick up his son.
"The police officer had called and said, 'You need to come down and get your son. We'll explain what happened when you get here," the child's father, Greg Criner, said.
Snyder was arrested and charged with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle and endangering the welfare of a child. She was taken to the Allegheny County Jail.
Snyder and her son had gone to the Pirates game, where she won the $10 voucher from the Rivers Casino.
According to the criminal complaint, she told police that the voucher was only good for 24 hours and she didn't want to have to drive back to Tarentum and then back to the casino.
"He's [shaken] up crying. He's okay. He's just scared for his mom," Criner said. "She wouldn't normally just do that. I think it was just poor judgment."
"'Mommy shouldn't have left you,' is what I told him. Especially, a place like that."
The Rivers Casino issues a statement about the incident Wednesday morning:
"We can't stop parents from making bad decisions; but we are vigilant in our efforts to prevent this from happening. In addition to multiple, large underage restriction signs, our parking lot is monitored 24/7 by surveillance cameras and patrols. This individual will receive a lifetime ban from our casino. We take this issue very seriously."
Snyder was arraign4ed at City Court and released without bail.
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