Inset: Erika D. Johnson (Beaufort County Detention Center). Background: The Walmart where Johnson allegedly left her kids in an overheating car (Google Maps).
A 35-year-old mother in North Carolina was arrested over the weekend for allegedly leaving her two young children — an infant and a toddler — alone in an overheating car while she went into a local Walmart, where she was caught shoplifting.
Erika Dixon Johnson was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with a spate of crimes, including two counts of child abuse and one count of shoplifting by concealment of goods, court records show.
According to court documents, the incident took place around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, at the Walmart located in the 500 block of Pamlico Plaza in Washington, North Carolina, which is about 250 miles west of Charlotte.
Johnson had apparently previously been “notified not to enter and remain there” by someone in Walmart”s Loss Prevention division due to a prior incident at the same location. As a result, she was also charged with second-degree trespassing.
Officers with the Washington Police Department responded to the store regarding a report of an adult female shoplifting. Charging documents state that Johnson “unlawfully and willfully” concealed “various clothing items” from the store in a trash can, and attempted to keep those items concealed in the bin to avoid paying for them.
Johnson was with her 3-year-old daughter in the store when she was initially detained for shoplifting, the documents state. As she was being questioned by police, the little girl allegedly said something about her two siblings still being in their parked car.
When the officers asked Johnson about the location of her car, she allegedly lied about where she had parked. Her refusal to disclose the location of the car “which contained abused children” resulted in her being charged with two counts of resisting a public officer.
Police say they soon located Johnson’s blue van, which was parked in a designated accessible spot in front of the store with two young children — a 3-month-old and a 2-year-old — “overheating” inside. Both children were reportedly sweating and not moving, a law enforcement official told local NBC affiliate WITN.
The two children found inside the vehicle were transported to a local hospital and were said to be in stable condition.
Johnson is currently being held in the Beaufort County Detention Center on $35,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on April 6.
