Should Burton Mother Face Neglect Charges After Her Car Was Stolen With Kids Inside?
The Flint man responsible for stealing a car with two kids inside has been caught by police, and the kids are safe, but should the mother face neglect charges?
Most of Mid-Michigan watched online as the manhunt played out in front of our eyes. Police were called around 7am yesterday morning after a man stole a car from the Admiral gas station on S. Saginaw in Burton. Thousands of people shared the story online, and some even mobilized to help police find him.
The good news is that the car was found and the children were safe. The suspect was also found later in the day, and is in police custody awaiting arraignment today. You can see the complete timeline of the events posted by WNEM here.
While most of the sentiment online was sympathy for the mother of the two children, Kaytlin Fletcher, some people were asking why this happened in the first place. It turns out that there may be some law enforcement officials that agree.
There is no doubt that the man who stole the car will face severe punishment for his idiotic acts, but now there are some rumbles that the mother could face neglect charges.
That will ultimately be up to David Leyton, and the Genesee County Prosecutors office.
Everyone has run into the store for a quick second and left their kids in the car. 99% of the time, nothing happens, and nobody thinks twice about it. This is the one percent where things went terribly wrong. Luckily the kids were OK, and the suspect was caught. Now someone will have to decide if they should make an example of the mother.
Do you think she should be charged with neglect?
Personally, I think that the woman has gone through enough punishment and mental anguish for all of us. There will always be those people though that demand she is charged so other people learn. As a parent, I know that I've done exactly the same thing as Kaytlin. I can also garuntee that she will NEVER leave her kids to run into the store again, and isn't that the point of punishing someone?
Check out the video of Kaytlin, and the police thanking everyone for rallying to help find her children below.