A man has been charged with child endangerment after he left his two-year-old child in a running vehicle on Monday.
According to Cleveland Heights police, a witness called police to report a young girl left in the backseat of an unattended running car in the Home Depot on Mayfield Road. The witness told police that the car had been unattended for approximately 25 minutes.
When they arrived they found the vehicle in the parking lot and asked Home Depot to page the owner to respond to the vehicle. When he came outside to his vehicle, John Depree explained to officers he left his daughter in the car because she was sleeping and had only been gone for ten minutes, leaving the car running for her.
Police say that after checking security footage Depree had been gone from his vehicle for closer to 40 minutes.
Depree's mother, Cindy Charles, took custody of his daughter and he was taken into police custody. He was charged with one count of child endangerment. Children and Family services were also called.
