On Thursday, February 3rd, Galesburg Police responded to the East Main Street HyVee for a report of two juveniles attempting to steal food. The female juveniles were ages 9 and 5 and it was the third time the two had been caught trying to steal from the store. With temperatures in the single digits, officers drove the two girls home on Iowa Avenue. Upon arrival to the residence, after no one came to the door for police, officers conducted a well-being check. According to police reports, the residence was in complete disarray and covered in filth. An 11-month old was found sleeping on a sofa and a 12-year old male was found sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. The male juvenile couldn’t tell police where his mother was or where his sisters were and didn’t seem to realize a baby was left unattended in the living room. At that time, officers notified DCFS. The children’s mother, 31-year old Kanesha Smith then arrived at the residence telling officers that her daughters were gone when she woke up and she left to go look for them. After police reviewed several hours of security footage, it was ultimately determined that the children were left unattended between February 2nd and February 3rd for 19 hours and 25 minutes. Smith was charged with Endangering the Life of a Child with a March court date.
