Inset: Lovenia Brooks (Brevard County Sheriff’s Office). Background: News footage of the Walmart in Melbourne, Fla., where Brooks allegedly left her kids in a hot car (WESH).
In a concerning incident in Florida, a woman was taken into custody after allegedly leaving her two small children unattended in a sweltering car while she shopped for PediaSure at a Walmart.
Authorities arrested 33-year-old Lovenia Brooks, charging her with two counts of child neglect. Police discovered her children, including an infant, alone in her Mitsubishi SUV, which was reportedly parked in the fire lane outside the Melbourne store on July 11. The incident came to light when a passerby noticed the children and alerted law enforcement. Legal documents reviewed by Law&Crime indicate that the bystander saw the children alone inside the vehicle.
According to police, the good Samaritan remained near the SUV, which was not running, although its windows were down. The baby was described in the affidavit as “actively upset and crying.” Brooks was seen hastily leaving the store and returning to the car just nine minutes after the bystander made the discovery.
Upon her return, the bystander informed an officer from the Melbourne Police Department that Brooks drove away “recklessly,” narrowly avoiding a crash.
A traffic officer, along with the first officer, quickly caught up to Brooks’ red Mitsubishi and pulled her over for a traffic stop. Both officers saw the children in the back seat, “one improperly buckled in a rear-facing car seat and the other juvenile in the back seat unsecured,” according to the affidavit.
When the officers asked Brooks about leaving her children alone, she said she was “just quickly running inside” to get PediaSure for one of her kids. Police asked her why she did not take her children inside the store with her, and she responded that “she should have and that she was just trying to get one thing done.”
Surveillance video determined that Brooks left the children alone outside the Walmart for nine minutes before she returned to her SUV. Police noted in their report that the air temperature reached 96.6 degrees Fahrenheit in Melbourne on July 11 and a heat advisory was in effect while Brooks ran her errand.
In addition to two counts of child neglect, the traffic officer issued Brooks citations for leaving a child in a vehicle, failing to properly restrain an infant, and not wearing a seat belt.
Brooks was booked into the Brevard County Jail after undergoing a medical evaluation. She posted bond and was released on July 13. Her next court date was scheduled for Aug. 6.