4 Kids Left In Pickup While Parents Played Pool: Jackson Police

JACKSON, NJ — A Jackson Township couple have been charged with child endangerment after authorities say they left their four children in the pickup truck outside a bar while they played pool. Police Officers Matthew Buono and Phil Minissale were called to the parking lot behind Brook Plaza about 9:45 p.m. Saturday after someone reported seeing a woman leave a child in a GMC pickup truck, Jackson Police Capt. Steven Laskiewicz said.

What Buono and Minissale found, however, was two children in the rear seat of the truck and no adult in sight. One of the officers went into the bar and found a 29-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman playing a game of pool; they told the officer the pickup truck was theirs, Laskiewicz said.

They went outside and opened the truck so the officers could check on the children, and that's when Buono and Minissale discovered there were actually four children, ages 8 years old to a 1-year-old, he said.

Although the temperature was 32 degrees outside, the children were checked and officers determined they were not injured, Laskiewicz said. The officers, who were joined by Sgt. Mitch Cowit, learned the children had been left in the vehicle unattended for about 30 minutes, he said.

The parents were arrested and the Department of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) was contacted to take care of the children. The adults' identities are being withheld at this time to protect the identities of the children involved, he said.

In addition to four counts of child endangerment, the man was charged with hindering apprehension after officers discovered he lied about his name, Laskiewicz said. He also had two outstanding warrants for his arrest out of Freehold. He additionally was charged with driving without a driver’s license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and failure to use a car seat for children, he said. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail.

The woman was charged with four counts of child endangerment and hindering apprehension and released on summons pending a court appearance, Laskiewicz said.

The owner of the GMC pickup was issued a summons for allowing an unlicensed person to operate the vehicle and the truck was impounded and towed from the scene, he said.

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