Brandon Twp.- A local mother and stepfather who left four children alone while they were drinking at a bar returned home to find deputies waiting for them.
Charlotte Bennett, 40, and John Baird, 37, were arraigned Jan. 15 at 52-2 District Court on charges of operating while intoxicated (first offense for Bennett, second offense for Baird).
The pair are also being investigated through Child Protective Services for child neglect.
According to police reports, Brandon deputies were dispatched to a home in the 600 block of Shelmar Lane at 9:22 p.m., Jan. 11, after an 11-year-old boy at the home called 9-1-1. The boy said he was not sure where his mother was. He had been left home to take of his three sisters, ages 9, 5, and 3-years-old and had expected his mother to be home around 6 p.m. His stepfather, Baird, had dropped off his two sisters after picking them up from school earlier, and never exited the car.
The 11-year-old had been alone with the younger kids since 3 p.m. and was unable to reach his mother’s cell phone. The deputies called the parents? cell phones several times without them answering. The deputy finally reached the stepfather, only to have Baird hang up.
The 3-year-old had a very soiled diaper and one of the deputies changed her. Contact was finally made with the children’s grandmother, who drove from an hour away to stay with the children. When she arrived, the deputies had put all four children to bed.
Bennett was observed driving her Hummer H3 into the driveway at 11 p.m. Ten minutes later, Baird was seen driving his Mazda into the driveway. Both smelled strongly of intoxicants and admitted to drinking at Callahan’s Bar. They did not appear surprised to see the deputies.
Bennett’s preliminary breathalyzer test had results of .22 percent blood alcohol content, while Baird’s showed .12 bac. They were both arrested for operating while intoxicated’Bennett’s first offense and Baird’s second offense since 2005. They were transported to the Oakland County Jail. A civil case for child neglect was turned over to Children’s Protective Services.