A Phoenix woman is facing child abuse charges for allegedly shopping and leaving her 6-month-old baby alone inside an unlocked car with the engine running and keys in the ignition.
Phoenix police say 29-year-old Ciera Carter was arrested Sunday night, but has since been released from jail pending an Oct. 3 court appearance.
Arizona Department of Child Services officials say the baby still is a ward of the state from a prior child abuse instance involving Carter.
Police say Carter told them she been shopping at a store for a minute while the infant was unattended and strapped into the car seat.
But police say surveillance video showed Carter was in the store for 14 minutes.
They say the car's air conditioning was running and the windows were rolled up.
