Woman Accused Of Leaving Kids Alone In Car While She Shopped

CARTERSVILLE, GA — A Cartersville woman is accused of leaving her two children inside a car unattended while she shopped at an area store.

A Cartersville police officer was dispatched to a call of two children who were unattended in a 2011 Nissan Pathfinder around 7:02 p.m. Thursday, June 7 at Ollie's Bargain Mart at 264 Nelson Street. The officer arrived and saw two children sleeping inside the SUV, which was unlocked and turned on with the air conditioner running, according to an incident report released by the Cartersville Police Department.

A check of the vehicle's tag revealed the owner of the car to be Cartersville resident Christian Joy Shullaw, 28. A witness told police he tried to page the driver of the vehicle inside Ollie's, but no one responded to the call.

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"An employee stated that she thought the registered owner came in the business and left in a separate vehicle," the incident report states.

After 30 minutes of being at the scene, the officer noted Shullaw came up to the vehicle and told police she was inside Rugged Warehouse, which is located within the same shopping center as Ollie's, when she "lost track of time." Shullaw had another juvenile with her when she came out of Rugged Wearhouse, the report adds.

"Ms. Shullaw then stated that she was having stomach issues and had to hurry into the bathroom," according to the report. "Ms. Shullaw stated that she was only inside the store for 15 minutes."

Shullaw was charged with two counts of reckless conduct and booked into the Bartow County Jail. She posted bond early Friday morning and was released from the facility.

According to Bartow County Jail records, Thursday's incident was not Shullaw's first run-in with the law. Those records show she was booked into the jail by the Bartow County Sheriff's Office on May 12 and charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of simple battery and cruelty to children - deprivation of necessary sustenance in the first degree.

Photo: Christian Joy Shullaw. Credit: Bartow County Jail