A mother and her boyfriend are accused of endangering two children after leaving them in a pickup for an hour on a July day that saw triple-digit temperatures, Austin police said.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Brandie Patschke, 23, and Jeremy Garrett, 31, court documents show, but police have not yet taken them into custody.
Police said the couple, who are locksmiths, left a 1-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy inside their pickup on July 31 at Barton Creek Square mall while they went inside to repair a lock at Nordstrom. The couple had rolled the windows halfway down, the warrant said. The temperature that day reached 102 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Patschke told police the couple lost track of time, then when Patschke came out to check on her children, first responders were already there, the warrant said. A security guard heard one of the children crying in the truck, police said.
The investigative officer wrote in the warrant that Patschke told police that she thought the children were still safe because the windows were rolled down.
Both children were sweaty when officers arrived, and they were given water inside the building, police said.
Nordstrom’s video surveillance shows the children were left alone in the truck for 57 minutes, police said. The affidavit does not state what time of day this happened.
The felony charges of endangering a child that Patschke and Garrett face can carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
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