Woman Goes to Bar, Arrested for Child Neglect

(Seffner, Florida) A 31-year-old local mother, Angie Michelle Hawkins, was arrested this week for allegedly leaving her autistic 12-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy alone at home while she went to a bar.

Hawkins faces felony child neglect and misdemeanor battery charges.

Deputies say there is no phone in Hawkins' house and that the autistic girl is prone to having seizures. Her other child woke up and ran to a neighbor's house because he didn't know where his mother had gone, a criminal arrest affidavit states.

The neighbor called law enforcement, and the 10-year-old told a deputy that his mother likely was at Lenny's Bar, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

A deputy called the bar and told her to come home, and she arrived about 12:45 a.m.

Hawkins, 31, then punched her neighbor on the eye with a closed fist, the affidavit states.

Hawkins was booked into custody at the Orient Road Jail with bail set at $8,000. The children are with child protective services.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy