Woman arrested for allegedly leaving baby in car on 80+ degree day

PEORIA COUNTY (25 News Now) - A woman has been arrested for allegedly endangering the life/health of a child - and police reports show it’s not the first time this has occurred.

According to a report Monday, June 20, Taryn Johnson, 31, was arrested at Plank Road Liquor after reports of an infant left in a running vehicle in the parking lot.

An employee of the store realized Johnson’s vehicle was running and went out to check it - peering through the back window and seeing several baby items and a car seat with a small infant inside.

According to the report, Johnson told the deputy she was there to buy cigarettes after leaving drug court in downtown Peoria, but someone was in the drive-through, so she went inside and then thought she could gamble for a few minutes.

The employee - once realizing who she was - specifically went out to check on the car, saying Johnson was caught doing this same thing back in January.

That report says Johnson was arrested for the same offense on January 12, at Daisy’s Bar and Grill on West Plank Road.

According to the January police report, the complainant was at the business at 2:40 p.m. and observed a vehicle parked at the business, left running.

The complainant left and returned around 5 p.m. and observed Johnson feeding an infant in the back seat.

Johnson was observed returning inside the business and sat at the gambling machines.

The complainant called 911 after exiting the business at 6 p.m. and shining her phone flashlight inside the vehicle, observing an infant and no one else.

At the time of the call Monday, it was 89 degrees outside, according to the report.

The employee told the deputy that she was gambling for around 20 minutes before law enforcement arrived.

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