Woman charged when child gets lost in store and tries to leave with toys, police say

Patrick Buchnowski, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·1 min read
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Dec. 5—A Johnstown woman was arraigned on Saturday for endangerment after a child in her care was lost in Walmart and tried to leave the store with a cart full of toys, Richland Township police allege.

Police charged Kwakiyah E. Brown, 21, of the 200 block of Cooper Avenue, with endangering the welfare of children.

According to a complaint affidavit, police said employees at Walmart in Town Centre Plaza found the child trying to leave the store with a cart full of toys. The child said he could not find his mother.

Police said no one responded when employees announced over the store intercom system that they had found a lost child. Police said they were with the child about 10 minutes before Brown arrived to take custody, the affidavit said.

Security footage reportedly showed Brown shopping alone for nearly two hours while the child was selecting toys. Brown failed to notify employees the child was missing and made no attempt to locate the child, the affidavit said.

Brown was arraigned by on-call District Judge Susan Gindlesperger, of Stonycreek Township, and freed on $10,000 unsecured bond.