Two Mesa parents are charged with child abuse after the mother's 11- and 7-year-old children were left abandoned and homeless when she was tossed in jail, and the father was evicted.
According to court documents, on Thursday, April 16, 2015, Mesa police arrested Stephanie Jake, 29, on an outstanding warrant. Her kids were currently at school when the arrest was made.
That same day Jake and her boyfriend, 41-year-old Eric Glass, were evicted from their apartment.
So when the kids returned from school there was no mom, no dad, and no one else home.
Fortunately, they were able to spend the night at a friend's home.
The next day (Friday), the kids went to school, but when classes were over they again returned to find everyone and everything they had gone.
That night, another tenant took the kids in, still with no word from mom or her boyfriend.
On Saturday, April 18--three days since last seeing their mom--the children spent the day playing with other kids at the apartment complex. Another tenant felt something was up and contacted police. Police contacted the Department of Public Safety who took custody of the kids.
That day, the mother called police and told them that her boyfriend had arranged for another family to watch the children. Detectives determined that to be a lie, according to documents.
Jake was released from jail on Friday and did not bother to check on her children, said police. Neither did the boyfriend.
Both were arrested and booked into jail on child abuse charges.
