A Liberty Township
resident was arrested on a charge of neglect of a dependent after the Porter
County Sheriff’s Police said that she left a young child asleep in a running
vehicle, parked outside The Icehouse in the early morning hours on Sunday,
while she drank shots at the bar.
According to
police, at 1:44 a.m. officers were dispatched to The Icehouse at 4 W. U.S.
Highway 6 after patrons there reported a child “left unattended inside of a
running vehicle” whose “driver was inside of the bar consuming alcohol.”
On their arrival,
officers confirmed that a young boy was asleep in the vehicle and that the
vehicle was running. They then made contact with the driver, identified as
Renee Demoss, 45, of 76 E. U.S. 6, No. 44, who proved to be the girlfriend
of the uncle of the child’s mother and had been asked to watch the child,
police said.
“I asked (Demoss)
why there was a young child sitting in the front seat of the vehicle while
she was inside of a bar drinking alcohol at 2 a.m.,” the investigating
officer stated in his report. Demoss “advised she was ‘on her way to Meijer
but stopped because she thought she recognized a car in the parking lot.’ I
asked (Demoss) if she thought it was appropriate to have a young child
sleeping in the front seat of a running car, parked in the parking lot of a
bar, while she was inside drinking, and she responded that she ‘just got
there’ and ‘didn’t think it was a big deal.’”
When the officer
asked Demoss to open the vehicle, she was unable to do so because she’d
locked her keys in the car, police said. The officer instead used his
lock-out kit to gain access.
Demoss “was very
uncooperative throughout the investigation and didn’t have a sense of
remorse or urgency over the situation,” the officer added. Demoss was asked
how many drinks she had consumed and she consistently responded ‘not many, I
just got here.’”
Police did say that
Demoss registered a blood alcohol content of .19 percent on a portable
breath test and when shown the result she replied that “it was a lie and I’m
not even drunk.” An Icehouse employee, on the other hand, advised that
Demoss had been inside the bar for 30 minutes and had had three shots,
police said.
Demoss was taken
into custody on a charge of neglect of a dependent and transported to Porter
County Jail. “When en route to the jail, (Demoss) had a very abusive
attitude and was very disrespectful toward myself,” the officer stated.
Demoss “was appalled that she was in handcuffs and arrested and was busily
engaged in rattling off various names of law enforcement officers she
‘knew,’ including but not limited to John Buncich, the Lake County Sheriff.
(Demoss) advised ‘we would be sorry for arresting her after she called
them.’ I quickly reminded (Demoss) that we were in the County of Porter and
the Sheriff of Lake County was going to be of no help to her.”
Meanwhile, the boy
was returned to his mother, who advised police that Demoss had not been
intoxicated when the child had been left with her.