Harrah’s Metropolis Casino Site of Child Left in Car, Adults Charged

Posted on: June 20, 2022, 01:42h. 

Last updated on: June 20, 2022, 02:18h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A couple was arrested after an 11-year-old was left alone in a car at Illinois’ Harrah’s Metropolis Casino on Saturday. The child was left in the vehicle for more than 90 minutes.

Baridques Anton Reeves, 40, and Kimberly Charie Byers, 37, both of Murfreesboro, Tenn., were each charged with endangering the health or life of a child, KFVS, a Missouri TV station, reported.

Police later contacted the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services about the incident. Reeves and Byers have since been released on bond.

The Caesars Entertainment-owned casino has some 1,200 slots and several table games. The hotel has more than 250 rooms.

Rivers Casino Incident

Last month in Illinois, two young children were left alone in a car parked at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. Their father allegedly went into the sportsbook to gamble. He was later located and arrested.

The children, ages three and five, apparently were not injured. It was not immediately clear how long the kids were alone in the car. Casino security guards saw the two children in the car and notified local cops.

The father, later identified as Esteban Meraz, 38, of Chicago, was found by authorities in the sportsbook. He was charged with two counts of endangering the life or health of a child, the Daily Herald, an Illinois newspaper. reported. His case was turned over to local courts for prosecution.

Des Plaines is a suburb of Chicago.

Prior Incidents

The problem of leaving kids alone in cars while adults gamble is seen nationwide. Earlier this year, an Ohio man allegedly left his seven-year-old daughter alone for a half-hour in a running car in Belterra Park’s parking garage. He went into the Anderson Township, Ohio racino.

Charles Jeffers of Mason, Ohio, was charged with endangering a child. Casino security apprehended him, WXIX, an Ohio TV station, reported. The girl did not appear to suffer injuries while alone in the car.

Last October, a 35-year-old Louisiana woman faced three charges after allegedly leaving a child unattended in a car at a Roanoke casino, allowing her time to gamble. Peto’s Travel Center and Casino security officers spotted the eight-year-old child in the car.

Deputies arrived and found the child’s mother, later identified as Sandra Sasser Britt of Lake Arthur, in the gaming property. She was gambling, deputies reported.

Britt was charged with child desertion, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia, deputies said.

In April 2021, a Florida physician faced two charges of neglect after leaving two children unattended in her car. Dr. Marieny Elena Guimera-Revelo allegedly left them in the car while she played poker at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood.

Prosecutors claim she was at a poker table in the casino for at least 12 minutes. The children were three and 11 years old at the time. It was unclear how the earlier charges were adjudicated in court.