Couple leaves children unattended in casino parking lot
A Sallisaw couple is charged with felony child neglect after they reportedly left three minor children unattended in the parking lot of a local casino while they went in to play.
Wilson and Ellisor charged with child neglect
A Sallisaw couple is charged with felony child neglect after they reportedly left three minor children unattended in the parking lot of a local casino while they went in to play.
Joshua K. Wilson, 31, and Rachael Ellisor, 38, were both charged on Nov. 9 in Sequoyah County District Court and bench warrants were issued for their arrests the same day. They received a $10,000 bond each and are now scheduled for a Jan. 4, 2023, felony disposition docket before Associate District Judge Kyle Waters.
Sallisaw Police reported they were dispatched on Oct. 29 to Cherokee Casino in Sallisaw do conduct a welfare check on a juvenile male. Dispatch advised officers they’d received a call about a young male child running in and out of a white car in the parking lot of the casino. The reporting party said the child didn’t have a shirt on and there were no adults around, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Sallisaw Police officer Sonny Jasna reported he shined his flashlight into the back window of the car and saw two small children asleep in the back seat. He later reported seeing a small juvenile male with no shirt on coming out of the casino, holding Ellisor’s hand.
When Jasna questioned Ellisor about why she was inside the casino if the children were outside in the car, she said she “didn’t think it was a big deal because she was only inside for maybe 20 minutes.”
Wilson then began walking towards the vehicle, asking what was going on and was told why police were there. Wilson told the officer they had just got back from Texas and “went in to stretch their legs and play $20,” according to the affidavit. Wilson said the kids were asleep in the car and they locked the doors, leaving them outside while they went into the casino to play.
Casino security told Jasna the couple entered the casino at 10:36 p.m. and were both banned from the casino for 72 hours.
District Attorney Jack Thorp said if found guilty of the charge, it is punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
