SCOTLAND NECK, N.C. (WNCT) — A Hobgood woman left an infant and a one-year-old child in her car for 40 minutes while she was in a sweepstakes in Scotland Neck, police said.
Shaneisha Smith has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse and was being held in the Halifax County Detention Center in lieu of $6,000 bail.
Scotland Neck police said they responded to Daughtridge Gas Company around 3:40 p.m. Thursday after a caller alerted them.
The vehicle was running and locked, but no one was inside. Police said surveillance footage revealed the infants were left in the car in direct sunlight for at least 40 minutes.
Police said the children appeared healthy and alert.
They were left in the care of a family member, and the Department of Social Services is looking into the incident.
Police said employees and customers of the sweepstakes were unaware of Smith’s actions, and the owner has banned Smith from the property.
