Lindon woman accused of leaving kids alone, ..

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Provo • A Lindon woman is in the Utah County jail after American Fork police say she left two children unattended while going on a shoplifting spree.

According to court records, the 39-year-old woman was seen putting items in a shopping cart at the Walmart in Lindon and tried to leave the store without paying for them. She was stopped by store staff, who took the items and obtained her contact information before letting her leave.

Police say the total value of the stolen property was $2,711.87, raising the crime to a third-degree felony.

While investigating the shoplifting, police discovered the woman had left a 5-month-old baby with Down syndrome in the care of a mentally challenged 11-year-old for eight hours. Police located the children and turned them over to their father.

Because of the older child's mental disability, police said the younger child was considered at risk of injury.

The woman was being held Tuesday on $2,500 bail.

She will appear in 4th District Court for a felony first appearance on retail theft and child neglect charges. Child neglect is a class A misdemeanor.

dmeyers@sltrib.com

Twitter: @donaldwmeyers

facebook.com/donaldwmeyers

gplus.to/donaldwmeyers

Lindon woman accused of leaving kids alone, shoplifting