Police arrested a Mesa man who left a young child in a running car while he went to a casino to gamble Monday afternoon.
According to court paperwork, officers responded to Casino Arizona near Loop 101 and McKellips Road in Scottsdale around 2 p.m. for reports of a child left in a running vehicle.
When police arrived, Casino Arizona security was reportedly at the silver Ford Focus where they found a 4-year-old girl asleep in the back seat.
The vehicle was running and keys were in the ignition, court papers show. Casino security then paged the vehicle plate, and 24-year-old Erick Trey Shinault came to the parking lot to meet them.
Shinault reportedly told them he went in the casino to get money from his cousin and was only there for 10 minutes.
Surveillance video shows that Shinault walked into the casino around 1:20 p.m. and gambled until nearly 3 p.m. until security paged him to come outside, according to paperwork.
Police said Shinault later admitted to gambling and had $460 on him. However, he first said he came to pick up $40 from his cousin.
According to police, Shinault is not the girl's biological father, and the girl's biological mother was contacted and later showed up to the parking lot from work.
Police learned the girl was sent home from school for being sick, and the girl's mother told police she had no idea they were at the casino, saying he was supposed to be at home with her sick daughter.
Shinault is facing child abuse charges.
