Baby girl was home alone in a dirty diaper while dad stole vodka, Missouri cops say

When a Missouri dad got caught shoplifting, he had one other detail to confess to police — he left his baby girl all alone at home.

Jarek Crowder, 24, was caught stealing “four small bottles of vodka,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Police said he stuffed those bottles into his jacket pocket, the newspaper reported.

After he was caught, the Ballwin dad told police that he also left his infant at home, police said, according to KSDK.

“So, officers went down there to see where he lived,” Ballwin Police Officer Scott Stephens said, according to KTVI. “They gained entry and found the baby in a crib.”

Stephens told the station that the 11-month-old baby girl had a dirty diaper and “seemed to be hungry.” That was at about 4 p.m. Dec. 4, and Crowder’s home was about a mile and a half from the store.

The baby was otherwise healthy and did not show any signs of neglect or abuse, KMOV reported.

Crowder now faces charges of child endangerment and theft, KMOV reported. His baby was released to a grandparent while the state’s family services division investigates, according to KTVI.

“Any amount of time unattended for a child that age is probably too much,” Stephens said, according to KTVI. “There’s definitely some aspects to this – a lot of bad decisions were made. Anytime there’s a child involved, the safety of that child needs to be everybody’s responsibility.”

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 9:21 AM.