The Mambo Seafood restaurant off the Northwest Freeway in Houston, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas mother who works full-time as a nurse was arrested after she allegedly left her 1-year-old child in an unlocked car in the parking lot of a restaurant where she and her family were having dinner.
Sally Zamora, 29, was arrested by Houston police on Monday on a charge of abandoning her child with the intent to return. According to court documents reviewed by Law&Crime, Zamora was monitoring her 1-year-old through a camera while she, her husband, and their other children were inside a Mambo Seafood restaurant at around 4:00 p.m. that day.
Police said that they responded to the scene after a witness found the child alone in the car, which was unlocked with the engine running and the air conditioner on.
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According to court documents, Zamora allegedly admitted to police that she did not physically leave the restaurant to check on the 1-year-old for “over an hour” because she was watching the baby through a camera that was in the car. She reportedly told police that she did not realize she had left the vehicle unlocked. Court documents stated that alcohol may have played a role in the alleged crime.
While police stated in the documents that the car”s air conditioner was on when the witness and officers found the baby, a criminal complaint stated that the air temperature on Monday, Aug. 11, hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The report indicated that the baby was not injured.
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Local NBC affiliate KPRC obtained information from a Houston Police Department spokesperson that the child was put in the custody of Zamora’s husband and that state Child Protective Services authorities were notified about the case. Law&Crime reached out to the Houston Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to inquire about any charges against the husband, who was at the restaurant with Zamora and their other children. Neither agency provided an immediate response.
Zamora was charged with one count of abandoning a child with the intent to return. She posted $1,000 bond and was ordered to enroll in a parenting class. Her next court date is Oct. 15.
