Two people were arrested and charged with several felonies relating to meth and child endangerment following an incident at the Sparta Walmart on July 6.
Sparta Police Officer Ralph Jones, who was the investigating officer for the incident, told the North County Newsthat the police department had received at call that afternoon around 4:30 p.m. The caller noted that there were children left unattended in a vehicle in the store’s parking lot.
When officers arrived, they discovered three children ranging from 2 to 10 years old in what Jones noted was a very small SUV. Also in the vehicle were four cats and a dog.
The officers spoke with the children and after about 15 minutes, Jones noted the father came out of the store. He spoke with the father, but noted the stories weren’t adding up. In addition, he had been looking around the vehicle and had discovered “many huge red flags.”
Officers then went into the store and made contact with the mother.
Upon further investigation, Jones said that they found inside the small vehicle ingredients for an active meth lab.
For more on this arrest, please see this week’s print edition.