Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shanderia Lakea Colvin, 25, was arrested early this morning and charged with child neglect after her five-year-old son reportedly called 911 to report that he and his brother had been left alone while Colvin “went to get liquor and go to a party.”

At about 11:55. p.m. on April 30, a 911 call was received from a five-year-old boy who reportedly said he was with his twin brother and that their mother had dropped them off at someone else’s house while she went to get liquor and go to a party.

A call-taker stayed on the phone with the child while Gainesville Police Department officers searched for the children, finally locating them at 1:40 a.m. in an apartment at Grove at Sweetwater Preserve. Officers entered the unlocked apartment and found the two children alone. The resident later reportedly told an officer that the door was unlocked because she had lost the key.

An officer contacted Colvin through the child’s phone.

Post Miranda, Colvin originally said she had left her children with a sibling and that her sibling had confirmed she was watching the children. However, after her sibling was taken into custody, Colvin reportedly recanted and admitted she had dropped her children off at the apartment and left them without supervision.

Colvin has been charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. She has one misdemeanor conviction for driving without a valid license. In December 2022, a sworn complaint was filed against her for allegedly stealing $2,000 in children’s clothes; in February 2023, a sworn complaint was filed against her for allegedly spraying mace on a victim; and in June 2023, a sworn complaint was filed against her for hitting a woman over the head with a glass bottle, causing a concussion. All of the charges were later dropped.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $20,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.