Father faces abandonment charges after leaving sleeping child in 3-hour card queue
A Charleston man was arrested after police said he left his 6-year-old daughter unattended for an hour to hold a spot for a Pokémon release.
By Anthony Lawson ·
John-Michael Dooley was taken into custody in Charleston, South Carolina, after police said he left his 6-year-old daughter sleeping alone outside a Target store for approximately one hour.
Officers responded to a report of an unattended child at 2:30 a.m. on November 7. The girl was found asleep on a pillow and blanket provided by her father. She was positioned within a crowd of shoppers waiting for a new release of Pokémon trading cards.
Witnesses stated that Dooley left the location around 1:00 a.m. Other members of the line noticed the child was unaccompanied and contacted law enforcement. When Dooley returned to the store, witnesses identified him to the responding officers.
Detective interviews revealed that Dooley told investigators he departed to prevent others from taking his position in the queue. He did not return to the immediate area until the police had been called.
The Charleston Police Department confirmed the child was not physically injured. She was placed in emergency protective custody following the incident.
Dooley is charged with unlawfully putting a child at risk, causing harm, or willfully abandoning the child. His initial court appearance is scheduled for December 12.
