A North Carolina mom was arrested after allegedly leaving her six-week-old baby in her car while she worked a shift at McDonald’s.
Nikita Jones, 21, was arrested on December 2nd after two warrants were issued by the police for her arrest. She faced one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one felony count of intentional child abuse causing serious physical injury. The reports from WRAL, a local NBC affiliate, indicated that Jones not only left her newborn baby unrestrained in her car, where the temperature was 40 degrees, but also allegedly struck the baby in the face, resulting in visible bruising around her eyes.
The police reported that Jones had left her baby in the car on November 21st and had turned off the car while she went inside a McDonald’s restaurant in Raleigh to start her shift. According to the warrants, the incident where Jones struck her baby occurred the day before, on November 20th, and the baby had bruises, swelling, and scratches on her face.
More from Law & Crime: ‘My mom is possessed by demons’: Mother abandons toddler on Daytona Beach, teen brother calls cops on her
Details about the baby’s current condition were not available, and it is unknown how long she was in the car before she was found.
Jones was taken into custody and held on a $50,000 secured bond for the felony charge and $5,000 for the misdemeanor, based on court records obtained by WNCN, a local CBS affiliate. Her upcoming court appearance for the felony charge is scheduled for December 10th, while she will return to court again on December 19th for the misdemeanor charge.
More from Law&Crime: Gambling mom left 2 toddlers to roast in hot car for 6 hours while she went to casino