Taquila goes out drinking, leaves her toddlers alone in empty apartment

Jewel writes:

What are the odds that this wonderful mother of the year pronounces her name TEQUILA?

The story is from Lancaster County, presumably in Pennsylvania. Strangely, no municipality is identified in the story, notwithstanding the mention of the defendant’s “city apartment.” What cities are in Lancaster County? It might be the city of Lancaster, pop. 59,000. (Out of some thoughtlessness, the websites of many newspapers do not clearly identify the state where they are located.)

A young mother was ordered to state prison Tuesday for leaving her two toddlers home alone last April while she was out drinking.

Taquila S. Brown, 22, left her children—ages 1 and 2—alone in a city apartment with no furniture or place to sleep on April 29, 2010.

Police officers found a used condom and a marijuana joint in the apartment, but no sign of the toddlers’ mother. Brown later returned home drunk, according to investigators.

County Judge Dennis E. Reinaker sentenced Brown to 1 to 2 years in state prison, followed by 3 years on probation.

Brown was scheduled for trial this week but pleaded guilty at the last minute. Assistant District Attorney Joseph P. McMahon and defense attorney Beverly Rampaul arranged a plea deal. Reinaker accepted the deal and sentenced immediately.

The young mother likely will lose custody of her children, investigators said.

She wept during the sentencing hearing, saying she missed her children and worries they will forget her when she goes to prison.

After the April 2010 incident, Lancaster County Children and Youth Agency took custody of the children. They have been placed in foster care, according to officials.

Brown pleaded guilty to two charges of endangering children, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. She fought with police when they tried to arrest her, an affidavit states.

Officers were notified by a woman who noticed the crying children unattended on the porch of a West Vine Street apartment building.

Police responded and found the children had walked outside of their open apartment front door. Inside the apartment, officers found the used condom and smoked marijuana joint within easy reach of the children.

There was no furniture except for beds cluttered with boxes and other items, a police affidavit states.

Brown returned home and police noticed she had blood-shot eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath. Brown told police, according to an affidavit, that she left her kids under the care of a man, “Len.” That story proved false.

Brown also was sentenced for simple assault relating to an October 2008 case in which she bit and scratched a security officer of a costume store at Park City Center mall. The officer was assaulted when he tried to stop her from stealing items, investigators said.

Brown has at least three prior felony retail theft convictions, they said, and an aggravated assault conviction.

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Jewell writes:

Yes, it’s Lancaster, PA. Sorry I didn’t specify. That’s a local story, too.

Greg W. writes:

“The young mother likely will lose custody of her children, investigators said.”

In a sane society, an investigator would not say this outstanding mother would “likely” lose custody of her children after she left two children alone to go get drunk, had a used condom and joint laying around the house. Firstly, one can’t assume this was the first time she has left the kids alone.

In sane society, this mother would UNDOUBTEDLY lose custody of her children. Our government rewards such behavior from folks like this. I would not be surprised if both of her children are from different fathers. I read a statistic just yesterday that claimed half of black women with more than one child has at least two fathers to their children. (I believe this stat is relevant to the story, as I assume with a name like Taquila, the woman is black).

This story is also a great accompaniment to your previous posts on the naming of children [here, here, here, and here]. Who would have ever guessed that a woman named “Taquila” would not grow up to be an outstanding citizen. If you truly think about one with a name such as this, and that she will grow up to be a deadbeat, it makes sense. What kind of parent(s) would name their child a bastardized spelling of an alcoholic drink? Taquila is a product of people who would name their child Taquila. Is it really a mystery?

LA replies:

Taquila was undoubtedly named by her unmarried mother, who herself probably had a name like Shanree or Laqueesha, which was given to her by her unmarried mother, and so on back to the beginnings of the modern welfare state in the early 1960s.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 11, 2011 10:05 AM | Send