Gambling Dad Arraigned Tuesday After Leaving Baby in Hot Car at Casino
- Montez D’Angelo Sistrunk left two-year-old and five-month-old baby in locked vehicle up to an hour while he gambled in casino
- Bad dad was charged with two counts of second-degree child abuse and was given a $75,000 bond with orders not to go near his children
- Initially, police responding to the scene simply issued a ticket to Sistrunk and let him go
- The father didn’t even leave car windows open a crack with temperatures nearing 80
- Motor City Casino has had a bad last couple of days, kicking off with a whole floor of slot machines malfunctioning
Montez D’Angelo Sistrunk of Ypsilanti. Michigan, was arraigned Tuesday after he left a five-month old baby and two-year-old child in his car for nearly an hour early Monday morning while he went inside Detroit’s Motor City Casino to gamble.
A casino employee venturing into the second floor garage notified security after seeing the two boys in the parked vehicle. The young boys were freed from Sistrunk’s Ford Focus around 11:35 am in the morning.
Sistrunk has been charged with two counts of second-degree child abuse and was given a $75,000 bond with a preliminary hearing set for September 13. He was also ordered to stay away from his children.
Initially, police responding to the scene simply issued a ticket to the bad dad and let him go.
“He was prematurely released before we actually concluded our investigation to make sure there was any evidence there to arrest,” Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said. “We had to go out to make contact with him, to re-establish contact with him, go out to Ypsilanti and arrest him.”
As if leaving the children alone in the car wasn’t enough, temperatures outside had reached 77 degrees at the time of the incident.
“The windows weren’t cracked or anything and they were locked in the car,” Officer Jennifer Moreno said. “Typically, if a vehicle is completely closed, even in the shade, in this weather, the inside of the vehicle can reach up to 120 degrees within 30 minutes.”
The Motor City Casino has made headlines on the pages of Gambling911.com twice in just a four-day period. Early Friday morning, patrons were forced to wait for hours to get paid winnings after an entire floor of slot machines malfunctioned.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
