Mother charged for leaving son in hot car while shopping

TYRONE, Ga. — A south metro Atlanta woman is facing charges after police say she left her 5-year-old son in her car while shopping.

Tyrone police charged Semeatress Robinson, 28, with reckless conduct after finding the boy sleeping in a car outside a Publix on Highway 74.

Police say the car was not running, but all the windows were down.

Police found his mother inside the store with a cart full of groceries. Surveillance video shows Robinson had been inside the store for around 20 minutes.  Police said it took another 10 minutes for her to come forward after being paged over the store’s loud speaker several times.

Robinson told police her son was sleeping when she arrived at the store. Since she only needed a few things, she said she decided to allow him to sleep while she went inside.

Police say the temperature at the time was around 89 degrees.

EMS says the boy was not harmed, but complained of being hot.

Robinson is being held in the Fayette County jail.

WSBTV