CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A Clarksville woman has been arrested after allegedly leaving her 4-year-old child alone in a Walmart parking lot.
According to an arrest warrant, a witness called police May 18 after seeing a small child alone in the parking lot at Walmart on Whitfield Rd. The witness said the girl was walking around alone and barefoot.
She said she had stayed with the child in an attempt to find her mother for 30 minutes. Multiple Walmart employees also came outside to assist.
The child eventually spotted her mother, 22-year-old Deborah Neely, sitting in a silver Buick van. The witness and employees tried to get Neely’s attention but she reportedly ignored them.
Sometime later, the witness said Neely got out of the van, grabbed the child by the arm, and took her back to the vehicle. She pulled out of the parking lot with the child right as officers were arriving.
Police made contact with Neely at her residence. Her arrest warrant says she told the officer that the girl was not walking alone but had been sitting on the sidewalk and pushing a cart in circles. She told the officer she “always lets her daughter go by herself to get the cart at grocery stores.” The officer also reports Neely said that her daughter talking to strangers “isn’t a new thing.”
Neely was arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect. A family member said Neely has previous DCS cases regarding neglect of her children.