Haleigh Angier
A 22-year-old Mountain Home woman, who allegedly left toddlers, ages one-and-three-years-old, alone and crying in an apartment, entered a guilty plea to the charges against her in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
Haleigh Josephine Angier was sentenced to 10-years probation. Prosecutor David Ethredge said various agencies, including Juvenile Services and the Arkansas Department of Human Services(DHS), had been involved in making the sentencing recommendation for Angier.
Angier and 24-year-old Timothy Jason Burkhart, Jr. both lived in the second floor apartment, and both were charged in the child endangerment case.
They were originally accused of endangering the welfare of the two minor children and possessing drug paraphernalia
Both Angier and Burkhart were drug tested by (DHS) and were found to be positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine and THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
In early March last year, the results of hair follicle drug screens on the children came back. Both were positive for methamphetamine and THC (marijuana) and the charge of introducing drugs into the body of another was added.
Burkhart was sentenced to five years in prison in mid-March. He is currently shown as having been paroled.
The incident was first reported by a neighbor who called the Mountain Home Police Department (MHPD) last February when she heard children crying in a near by apartment. The neighbor said the parents had been gone for about an hour.
The first Mountain Home police officer to respond to the apartment complex reported hearing the crying children as he neared the unit.
After knocking, the officer reported one of the children began to slowly turn the doorknob. When the officer twisted the knob slightly, the door, which was reported to be unlocked, came open.
When the officer entered the residence, he found the two toddlers clad only in diapers. According to the police report, the younger child was visibly upset and crying as he looked for his parents.
MHPD Sgt. Bryan Corbett picked up the younger child and comforted him until DHS representatives arrived to take custody of the children.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a television set had been left on playing a children’s program.
A second MHPD officer arrived on the scene to assist.
After being at the apartment for about an hour, the officers departed, only to receive a 911 call from the complex apparently made by Burkhart reporting the two children missing.
When officers arrived, they reported Burkhart and Angier had returned to the apartment. Burkhart was said to have demanded reasons why police entered and searched the unit, and why the children had been taken away.
The police report indicated Burkhart and Angier had to “have it explained to them” why leaving very young children alone was “not right” and could be considered child neglect.
Officers also reported finding drug paraphernalia in plain sight in both the bedroom and living room.
When it was found Burkhart was on felony probation and had signed a waiver permitting warrantless searches, more drug-related items were located.
Angier was listed in court records as Burkhart’s fiancé.
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