South Carolina father arrested for leaving 6-year-old alone outside Target for Pokémon cards
A 35-year-old man left his sleeping daughter unattended outside a Charleston Target at 2:30 a.m. to hold his spot in line for a Pokémon card release.
Charleston man leaves sleeping child outside store to secure Pokémon card queue spot
A South Carolina father was arrested after leaving his 6-year-old daughter sleeping alone outside a Target store in the early hours of the morning, abc7chicago.com reports.
John-Michael Dooley, 35, of Johns Island, was taken into custody on Friday after Charleston Police Department officers responded to a report of an unattended child outside the Target in the city's West Ashley neighbourhood at approximately 2:30 a.m.
The store had drawn a crowd overnight ahead of a new Pokémon trading card set release. Witnesses told police that Dooley had provided his daughter with a pillow and blanket before leaving her asleep in the queue sometime after 1 a.m.
After roughly an hour passed with no sign of Dooley, concerned customers called police. When he returned to the store, witnesses identified him to officers and he was arrested on the spot.
In a subsequent interview with detectives, Dooley acknowledged that he had gone home, leaving the child unattended in order to hold his place in line and avoid missing the chance to purchase the cards, police said.
The girl was not physically harmed. She was placed in emergency protective custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, according to police.
Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. He has since been released from custody, a Charleston Police Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News, citing records from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office website.
A Target spokesperson told ABC News on background that the store was closed at the time of the incident and that the company would cooperate with law enforcement during its investigation.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)