Oakdale Mom Left Three Young Kids Home Alone to Go Shopping: Charges

A 23-year-old Oakdale mother has been charged with child neglect after police say she left her three kids, age 3, 2, and 14-months-old, by themselves at home before going shopping. On Aug. 14, an Oakdale police officer was dispatched to a town home complex located on the 1300 block of Gentry Avenue on a report that very young children were outside unsupervised. Upon arrival, an Oakdale police officer identified as "Officer Coffey" observed two young girls standing outside on the sidewalk, one wearing only underwear. The girls were later identified as Child 1 (three years old) and Child 2 (two years old). Law enforcement took custody of the children.

Coffey spoke with Michael Thomas Blood, a maintenance employee who reported the incident. Blood stated that there was another child, later identified as Child 3 (fourteen months old), inside the residence but no one else was home when he knocked. Coffey observed Child 3 sitting on the bottom step inside the residence crying. Coffey entered the residence and took custody of the 1-year-old. No one else was inside the residence, according to the criminal complaint.

Coffey spoke with another witness, Mellanie Eliasen, who stated she heard crying and found the two children wandering around outside without any clothes; one of the two children was wearing a shirt and boots. Eliasen stated that she knocked on the residence and no one came to the door. Eliasen retrieved underwear from her own residence and placed them on the two children, and gave them suckers because they were crying, according to a criminal complaint. Eliasen stated that the 3-year-old was holding herself as if she needed to use the restroom so Eliasen brought her into her residence to do so.

Later, three adult females arrived at the residence by car. Coffey asked if any of them knew the three children. A female identified as Der Yang, 24, stated that she was the mother. Yang admitted that she left the residence and traveled to Sam's Club in Woodbury to get food, according to the criminal complaint.

Yang admitted there was no one there to baby sit the children, but told police that all three were sleeping. Yang said that she is the only one who lives at the residence with her three kids.

Last year, Coffey took a similar report at the same residence in which a toddler was found outside wearing only boots.

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