Police: MWC Mother Left Infant Home Alone To Smoke Cigarettes

Midwest City police arrest a mother after she allegedly left her infant child home alone for hours.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Ebony Lashone Jackson, 24, left her 11-month-old baby home alone for several hours on Saturday, August 17. Police responded to an apartment located at 1322 N. Midwest Boulevard after a neighbor called to report a baby crying in the apartment across the hall from her.

When police arrived, the neighbor told police she had texted Jackson around 3:30 p.m. asking her if she left her baby at home alone. Two hours later, the neighbor said Jackson called her and said she had just gone to the store for a few minutes. Officers went to the apartment where they only heard a loud T.V. inside. Once apartment personnel opened the apartment, police found the infant alone in a crib with a soiled diaper and empty bottle.

Court documents show Jackson arrived on the scene around 6:30 p.m. When questioned about where she was, she originally told police she had gone to the store but had no groceries with her. Police said she finally admitted she "has been stressed out trying to pay bills and got overwhelmed and needed to get away and smoke some cigarettes."

Police arrested Jackson for child endangerment. She was transported to the Midwest City jail. The baby was taken into protective custody.