'Car seat was heavy:' Case dismissed against mom accused of leaving baby in car while she shopped

MILWAUKEE -- A felony child neglect charge filed against a Milwaukee mother in March 2019 was dismissed Wednesday, April 29 by prosecutors, who said Chenille Cole complied with a deferred prosecution agreement.

Online court records showed a guilty plea entered on Aug. 14, 2019 by Cole, 29, and the case was dismissed.

Prosecutors said Cole left her 1-year-old child in a vehicle alone for approximately an hour while she shopped for groceries at Metro Market near Van Buren Street and Juneau Avenue on March 19, 2019.

According to a criminal complaint, police spoke with a security guard who indicated a customer alerted store staff that there was an infant alone in a vehicle in the parking lot. The security guard saw the infant sleeping in the car and said he was unable to locate a parent or owner of the vehicle.

Staff members took a look at surveillance video, which showed approximately an hour had gone by with the child alone in the vehicle.

Eventually, Cole arrived at the vehicle and identified herself as the child's mother.

The complaint said she indicated "she had only been gone for 15 minutes," and that she "thought it was a safe place" to leave her 1-year-old "because the child had been sick and had just fallen asleep." She also indicated "the car seat was heavy."

Again -- the case against Cole has been dismissed.