Gambling Addict leaves her 5 kids in car at Sands Bethlehem

From Bill Kearney:

Mom charged with leaving kids in car to gamble called 'loving and caring'

Yulissa Troncoso is charged with leaving five kids in car while she gambled.

By Pamela Lehman, Of The Morning Call
September 26, 2012

The attorney for a woman charged with leaving her five kids alone in a car on a summer night while she gambled at the Sands casino said Tuesday that his client made a mistake in judgment.

Yulissa Troncoso, 33, of Allentown, will face Northampton County Court action on five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. In a brief appearance before District Judge Patricia Romig-Passaro, Troncoso gave up her right to a preliminary hearing. She is free after posting $10,000 bail.

Troncoso's attorney, Glennis Clark, said afterward that Troncoso did not intend to harm her children when she allegedly left them in a car for about an hour July 26.

Authorities said they paged Troncoso repeatedly while she played slot machines. The high temperature that day had been 91 degrees and police said the windows of the vehicle were cracked slightly open.


"She's a loving and caring mother," Clark said. "Unfortunately, she made a mistake that day."

Since the charges were filed in August, Troncoso's five children have been living with her and their father, Clark said. Officials with Lehigh County Children and Youth are monitoring the children to ensure their safety and well-being, Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Robert Eyer said.

Clark asked Romig-Passaro to modify a bail condition that barred Troncoso from contact with her children. But Romig-Passaro said the bail condition would stand because she hadn't received notice from Lehigh County Children and Youth about the children being returned to Troncoso's care.

The charges against Troncoso, of 518 N. Dauphin St., were believed to be some of the first locally of a parent allegedly leaving a child alone while gambling.

At the time the charges were filed, police said the children's ages were 10 months, 2 years, 6, 11 and 12.



In the past two years, 10 people have been arrested at the Parx Casino in lower Bucks County and charged with endangering the welfare of children. In other cases across the country, children died after being left alone in casino parking lots and locked in vehicles in sweltering temperatures.

According to court records in the July 26 case:

Security officers at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem were on patrol in the garage around 9:20 p.m. when they saw children in the vehicle with four slightly open windows. A security officer then called Bethlehem police.

The oldest girl told police her mother had a cellphone and she knew the number, but Troncoso didn't have the phone with her.

Troncoso continued to gamble in the casino for about an hour while she was repeatedly paged over the intercom. Video surveillance showed her playing slot machines, according to the court records.

Police said the children were not injured.

See link for video:
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bethelhem-sands-casino-mom-kids-alone-car-20120925,0,7726082.story