A North Carolina mother was arrested after reportedly leaving her six-week-old baby in her car while working a shift at McDonald’s.
Nikita Jones, 21, was arrested on December 2 after police filed two warrants for her arrest on one count of misdemeanour child abuse and one count of felony intentional child abuse resulting in significant physical injury.
According to WRAL, a local NBC affiliate, the arrest warrants state that Jones not only left her newborn infant unrestrained in her car, where police say the temperature was below 40 degrees, but she also apparently smacked the baby in the face, causing obvious bruises around her eyes.
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According to police, Jones left her infant in the car on Nov. 21 and turned it off when she entered the McDonald’s restaurant in Raleigh to begin her shift. According to the warrants, Jones assaulted her infant the day before, on November 20, and the girl had bruises, swelling, and scratches on her face.
Details about the baby’s present condition were unavailable, and it is unclear how long she was in the car before being discovered.
Jones was arrested and put on a $50,000 secured bond for the felony and $5,000 for the misdemeanour, according to court documents acquired by WNCN, a local CBS station.
Her next court date is December 10, when she will be arraigned on the felony offence. She will return to court on December 19 for the misdemeanour.