According to police, a grandfather was taken into custody for allegedly compensating a homeless woman with $20 to care for his 7-year-old granddaughter while he spent several hours getting intoxicated at a bar.
The incident occurred on Monday evening at approximately 7:45 p.m., when deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s North Patrol responded to the parking lot of a bar on the 5300 block of Auburn Boulevard in Sacramento, California, when, according to police, a passerby called 911 to report a 54-year-old man “asking people for help because his 7-year-old granddaughter had been kidnapped for human trafficking.”
Related posts
When deputies got on the scene, they spoke with the suspect, a 54-year-old grandpa named Jason Warren, who was “highly intoxicated” from the moment they made contact, according to police.
According to a police statement on Wednesday, “Deputies arrived on scene and contacted Warren, who was highly intoxicated.” ” He told Deputies that he gave an unknown homeless woman $20 to take his granddaughter to a neighboring thrift store while he was in the pub around four hours before. Deputies swiftly obtained video surveillance footage showing the mother leaving with the child.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s North Patrol promptly dispatched a helicopter, unmanned drones, and a K9 unit to aid in the urgent search for the missing 7-year-old girl.
“Approximately a half hour after the search was underway, the woman heard the PA announcements from STAR (the sheriff’s helicopter) and returned to the parking lot with the child, according to police.” The woman acknowledged that Warren gave her money to take the youngster to the thrift store. She went on to inform the deputies that Warren was extremely intoxicated and that she did not believe he could care for the child. The woman brought the infant to her “camp” to get food.
Deputies were able to speak with the man’s granddaughter after her recovery, and she confirmed the story. Officials confirmed that the infant was not in distress and Fire Department professionals on site performed a medical check as a precaution.
“Through further investigation, deputies were able to determine that the child’s aunt had full custody of the child but asked Warren to care for his granddaughter because she had to go to work,” police said after the incident. “After consulting with Child Protective Services, deputies concluded that the child could safely return home with her aunt.”
Warren was arrested for felony child endangerment, among other counts, and sent to the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he is currently being held on a $75,000 bond.
The probe is still ongoing.
