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Police are calling on parents to be responsible and simply take care of their children after another case of children unattended that's hard to believe.
A Midvale mother allegedly left her three children at home so she could go drinking.
According to Midvale police, an 8-year-old, 6-year-old and a 3-week-old were left alone at home so their mother could go party. But when the mother came back, she had more than her children waiting for her.
Sgt. John Salazar of the Midvale Police Department said Tiha Capri LeFevre had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, or .235, when she headed back to her apartment after partying with friends.
Police wouldn't have known had it not been for the 8-year-old who went next door to a neighbor's apartment to get help taking care of the infant. The children apparently had no idea where she went.
Sgt. Salazar said, "The children didn't know. Our officers interviewed the neighbors and [they] said it happens quite often."
According to the probable-cause statement, the children were "dirty" and hungry, having had one egg in the morning. The officer on scene bought the children dinner at 11 p.m.
Finally the mother, LeFevre, was found, though police say she wasn't in good shape.
"She would not have been able to take care of the children's safety or welfare had she made it home," Sgt. Salazar said. "So the children were taken from the home and taken to a local shelter."
That shelter is the Christmas Box, where the children remain. The infant is in foster care. Police say that care should have been given by the children's parents.
"Please be responsible," Sgt. Salazar said. "If you're a partier, close that chapter in your life when you have children and grow up. Just take care of the kids."
We heard a similar appeal to parents last week after David Farnham was arrested at a Salt Lake movie theater for leaving his toddler in the car in the parking lot, so Farnham could watch the movie "The Dark Knight."
Farnham is out of jail but faces misdemeanor charges of child abuse.
LeFevre, however, is in jail and faces three counts of child neglect and child endangerment, according to the probable-cause statement. Police also are investigating the children's father in this case because, according to them, he also had left the apartment to go drinking with friends.
E-mail: lprichard@ksl.com
