A California man went out to drink, leaving his 7-year-old granddaughter with a homeless woman: the sheriff’s department
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a bar’s parking lot at approximately 7:45 p.m. According to a caller, a dad was pleading with people for assistance after his 7-year-old granddaughter was abducted for the purpose of human trafficking.
The man, subsequently identified as 54-year-old Jason Warren, was “highly intoxicated” when deputies arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.
Warren told deputies that while he was at a pub, he donated $20 to a homeless woman so that she could take his granddaughter to a thrift store. He spent almost four hours at the tavern, according to the sheriff’s office.
Surveillance footage showing Lauren Jope, a lady, leaving with the child was discovered by deputies. The women took the youngster back to the parking area after hearing the sheriff’s helicopter’s broadcasts approximately thirty minutes into the search.
“After we’d gotten something to eat, we walked back up the hill and all the sudden the helicopter is going around and then attention on the ground, attention on the ground and it says her name and describes me,” Jope stated.
She verified with the deputies that Warren gave her $20 so she could take the kid to a thrift shop.
“I was just walking down the street and this car looked like it was out of gas and was just kinda putting into the parking lot this guy ask me, ‘Hey, could you watch my, or can you go into the store with my daughter to buy a pair of shorts?'” Jope stated.
She also said that he was drunk and that she didn’t think he was capable of raising a child, so she brought the infant to her camp so she could feed it.
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The sheriff’s office claims that the child verified the woman’s story with deputies and wasn’t in any danger. As a precaution, the child’s medical clearance was granted.
The infant’s aunt was found to have full custody during the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office, which requested that Warren watch the child since the aunt had to leave for work. The toddler and her aunt went back home.
Warren was taken into custody and is facing numerous counts, including criminal child endangerment. With a $75,000 bail, he is being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail. On Wednesday, he is expected to appear in court.
Jope expresses gratitude for having crossed his path when he was searching for a caregiver.
“I’m glad I was walking when I was cause you know she could have been left with some, some man or you know someone who doesn’t want to watch her. Someone that doesn’t really care,” Jope stated.
