Veronica Elliot, 35, was arrested after she allegedly left her 7-year-old daughter alone in a car to go drinking at a bar in DeLand, Florida. Elliot faces a child neglect charge. (DeLand Police Department)
A woman went to go get drunk at a bar called “The Perfect Spot” but it was far from the perfect spot to leave her kid behind in the parking lot.
Police in DeLand, Florida, were called around 3 a.m. Sunday after a 7-year-old girl walked up to the bar asking for her mother. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, the girl was smiling and able to talk with officers. She pointed out the car she and her mom came in, which was turned off and cold to the touch. She stated that they got to the bar around midnight and her mother told her she had to “handle some important business and that she would be back in 10 minutes,” the affidavit said. After waiting the 10 minutes the girl left to go look for her mom.
Officers began to search the area, which included a campsite nearby. But after looking for two hours police couldn’t find the woman, later identified as 35-year-old Veronica Elliot. The girl gave police the number of a man who served as a father figure for the girl after her biological father was murdered last year, the affidavit said. The man came to the bar and told officers that Elliot had a history of abusing heroin and prescription medication, including a near-fatal overdose earlier this year. He said he tried calling Elliot’s home throughout the night after she didn’t return home with the girl but she didn’t pick up.
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Elliot was last seen with a man at the bar with whom she had a “friends with benefits” relationship for the past few months. The man told police that Elliot arrived at the bar at midnight, had a few drinks and then left around 12:30 a.m. without saying where she was going.
Around 6:30 a.m. Elliot walked up to officers and asked them for the time. Elliot appeared surprised at how much time had elapsed and said she had only planned to be gone 10 minutes. She was “covered in dirt, swaying with her movements, and was missing her shoes,” the affidavit said. Officers asked where she was and she said she woke up in a car but did not know where it was. Elliot said she had two drinks at another bar prior to going to “The Perfect Spot” where she had three beers. She showed obvious signs of intoxication, cops said.
Elliot was arrested on a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm and taken to the Volusia County Jail where she has since bonded out. The Department of Children and Families responded and took custody of the child.
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