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A South Jersey man made the wrong decision when he left his fourteen month old daughter in his vehicle to play blackjack at the Parx Casino. Shannon Fenton alleged was turned away at the casino door and then returned to his car when he was not allowed to take his baby inside the casino. He then strapped his baby back in her seat and went back inside to play blackjack.The man was celebrating his 27th birthday and is now facing several charges including the welfare of a child. Fenton would face up to five years in jail as well as recklessly endangering another person. State police responded on the scene this past Wednesday afternoon after they received a report of a baby left inside a vehicle.
Police arrived on the scene and found the young baby inside the car alone. To car seemed to be running with the windows rolled up and the keys were in the ignition. The driver’s side door in the front of the car was unlocked and the police report did not state if the car had working air or if it was on.
The baby was crying and was taken from the vehicle by a state trooper. The baby appeared to be warm to the touch and clammy. The baby was estimated to have been in the car alone for around twenty minutes. The temperature was around 91 degrees and temperatures in a closed vehicle can rise very quickly so the baby was in danger of heat exposure.
Fenton returned to his car around 15 minutes after the police arrived on the scene and he told police officers that he entered the casino to use the bathroom. He then changed his story and said he was gambling at the blackjack tables.
2012-07-13
