Two women play slots while children left in running car outside casino, police say
Melhor Leonor Sun SentinelWhile two South Florida women played the slots late Sunday evening, their children waited in a running car parked outside the casino, authorities say.
Sisters Romanie Pierre, 31, and Malory Pierre, 27, of North Miami, drove to Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach with two boys and two girls — ages 8, 5, 4 and 2 — in the car, according Broward Judge John “Jay” Hurley, who read from the arrest report during a bond hearing Monday.
A customer at the casino noticed the children sitting in the car for 20 to 30 minutes and called 911, Hurley said.
Hallandale Police arrested both women, who appeared in court Monday morning on four counts each of child neglect. The sisters are being held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach, with bond set at $4,000 each.
When police arrived at the casino, the oldest child unlocked the vehicle and told police her “stepmother and her sister went inside and left us here.”
The women told police they had gone to use the restroom, but a quick investigation revealed the women had checked in to the Players’ Club and were gambling inside.
The vehicle was parked 250 feet from the entrance of the casino.
The children were not harmed and are currently under the care of their grandmother.
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