Mother Re-Arrested After Custody Hearing For Kids Left In Walmart Parking Lot
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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A mother has been re-arrested on neglect charges for leaving her children alone in car while she allegedly shoplifted at a Walmart.
Tosheba Hope, 30, was arrested immediately after a shelter hearing Wednesday afternoon.
The hearing was held to find out who would take care of three children left in a car in the parking lot of a Lauderdale Lakes Walmart for hours.
Hope told investigators that her 19-year-old cousin was with the kids the whole time, but it was later proved that the cousin had left the parking lot.
"They could have been innocent of the Walmart case... Once could have thought one was paying. The other could have thought the other was paying," said Defense Attorney Jeff Levy.
Ralph Thomas, the biological father of the 7 and 9-year-old girls, was awarded temporary custody of all three children.
"I thank the people at Walmart also. I thank them dealry. My daughter is out alive," said Thomas.
The 2-year-old is the son of Gerald Moultrie, Hope's 24-year old boyfriend.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said the duo was arrested Monday night after they tried to steal $660 in tools and auto accessories. Deputies said while in custody, the couple never mentioned the three kids were still waiting in the car.
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It wasn't until 2 a.m., more than seven hours after their arrest, that a customer noticed the abandoned siblings crying in the parking lot and got a store employee to call 911.
Operator: "What's your emergency?"
Employee: "I"
Operator: "What's your emergency?
Employee: "I have a 2, 9, and a 7 year old. A mother, we found, a customer found, she left the kids in the car and another customer said the kids were calling their your mom."
In bond court Tuesday, Hope dropped a bombshell.
"I have three small children and I'm currently pregnant," she told the judge.
Since the child neglect charges were pending, the judge had released the couple on the grand theft charges.
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