Clinton police: Woman arrested for leaving child in hot van
A spokesman for the city of Clinton says police have arrested the woman accused of leaving her child in a hot van at Walmart, kicking off a dramatic rescue by several private citizens.
Clinton public information officer Mark Jones said Sherika Green, 32, of Arizona, is in police custody, and was booked at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Green is facing child endangerment charges after her explanation about why the child was in the van unattended changed. The family was visiting Mississippi, Clinton Police Chief Ford Hayman said Monday.
First, the child's mother told police it was a miscommunication between her and her husband, and that she thought the child had been removed from the car before she went to Walmart, Hayman said. Later her story was allegedly that she was only going into the store for a minute. The father was not at Walmart during the incident.
"Based on the conflicting stories, we do believe there is a small measure of neglect here," Hayman said. "Knowingly, intentionally or recklessly, we believe that was the case."
This is a developing story.
Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.