Parents left 4-year-old in car while they gambled, authorities say
The parents of a 4-year-old girl were arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment earlier this week after allegedly leaving the child alone in a car while they gambled at the Chumash Casino.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were called to the casino in Santa Ynez about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday after the child was found by herself, walking around the parking structure at the casino.
“The passerby, who found the child, took her to the security desk and the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s office was notified,” according to a news release from the agency.
Parents Petra Zaragoza, 28, and Bulmaro Reyes, 23, of Santa Maria allegedly stopped at the casino at about noon that day and went gambling while leaving the child in the car asleep.
“About 10 minutes later, the child was seen leaving the car and looking around for her parents,” according to the release.
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