Dad leaves infant, 2-year-old home alone while he goes to McDonald's (Rutland, Vermont)

Dad MARTIN MUIRURI was apparently suffering from a Big Mac attack, so he left a baby and a 2-year-old at home alone while he went to McDonald's. The 2-year-old was found wandering along a highway.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20090819/NEWS/908190406/1116

Police: Dad left tots alone at home
By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

EAST BROOKFIELD — A Rutland man faces child endangerment charges after his 2-year-old child was found toddling along Route 56, and his infant was alone in the house, while he allegedly went to McDonald’s to pick up some burgers.

Martin Muiruri, 35, of 257 Pommogussett Road, was arraigned yesterday in Western Worcester District Court on two counts of reckless endangerment of a child.

Police were called to the area around noon Aug. 6 after a report that a youngster was wandering on Route 56, which is Pommogussett Road. When police arrived, a neighbor had apparently found the child and taken the youngster to 257 Pommogussett Road, where the neighbor believed the toddler lived.

An officer went to the house and found the doors locked. When no one answered, he became concerned that someone might be injured in the house and forced his way inside, calling for backup and assistance from the Rutland Fire Department.

The officer went from room to room and “heard a coo from a baby” before finding an infant in a swing in the living room, according to court documents. The house was thoroughly searched and no one was found, so police called the state Department of Children and Families and took the children by ambulance to the public safety complex.

As the officer was leaving, the telephone in the home rang and he answered it. The children’s mother was on the line and asked where her husband was. Police told her they did not know and she rushed to the safety complex from neighboring Holden to get her children. The report states that she was very upset with her husband over the matter.

When police were leaving the home, an SUV pulled into the driveway with Mr. Muiruri behind the wheel. The 35-year-old told police he had left the sleeping children to pick up food at McDonald’s and didn’t expect to be gone so long.

In court yesterday, Mr. Muiruri was ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with the children, and the family must follow guidelines set by DCF for care of their offspring.

Mr. Muiruri was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court Oct. 13 for a pretrial hearing.