*A lesson meant to protect a child instead became the reason police intervened at an Arkansas home. Authorities say a 5-year-old boy used emergency training his mother gave him when he realized no adults were present to care for him or his younger siblings.
According to Law & Crime, the incident unfolded last week in Jonesboro, when emergency operators received a call from a child who said his parents were not home. A second call soon followed from the same location, prompting officers to respond to the residence to check on the situation.
When police arrived, they were unable to enter through the front door, which was locked. They ultimately made entry through an unlocked rear door and discovered three children, ages 1, 2, and 5, alone inside the home.
According to police reports, the house was in poor condition. Officers documented garbage scattered throughout the residence, dirty dishes filling the sink, vomit on the kitchen floor, and live roaches visible on both the floors and walls. The heat inside the home was also set unusually high.
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Police later contacted the children’s grandmother after locating a phone inside the house with her contact information. The grandmother provided a phone number for the mother, Tyliah Andrews, 22, who told officers she was at another apartment complex about 15 minutes away. Andrews said her 14-year-old nephew had been assigned to watch the children.
Investigators later determined that the nephew had not been at the home at any point. His mother told police he had spent the entire night at her residence, and officers concluded he was not involved in supervising the children.
As officers waited for the mother to return home, the 5-year-old said the children had been “home alone all day.” During a post-Miranda interview, Andrews explained that her son made the calls because “he wants to be a police officer when he grows up,” adding that she taught him “how to call the police if he needs help.”
Authorities charged Andrews with three felony counts related to child endangerment, along with an additional charge of criminal impersonation. She remains in custody at the Craighead County Jail on a $5,000 bond, while her children have been placed in the care of their grandmother.
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