San Tan Valley couple abandon son, 2, to play Pokemon Go
A toddler out of San Tan Valley was found wandering alone for at least an hour and a half while his parents allegedly went out to play Pokemon Go.
They are now facing some serious charges.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, a neighbor found the 2-year-old boy outside his home in the 700 block of East Payton Street Thursday night and called authorities.
Deputies arrived and found the child screaming and crying, attempting to get into the residence. They said the boy was barefoot and wearing only a diaper and a T-shirt. The child was reportedly red-faced, sweaty and dirty.
Deputies found the house unlocked and searched inside for any adults but found that no one was home. They found a phone number for someone they believed was the boy’s dad, and called it.
“And we tell him, ‘This is the Sheriff’s Department, we have your son.’ And he says, ‘Whatever,’ and hangs up the phone,” said Sheriff Paul Babeu.
Both parents showed up a while later and admitted they left their son home alone to go play Pokemon Go in nearby neighborhoods, according to Sheriff Babeu.
His parents, Brianna Daley, 25, and Brent Daley, 27, of San Tan Valley, were arrested and now face charges of child endangerment and child neglect.
“I think it’s awful. I think a child should come before a video game,” said neighbor Katie Young.
Both parents have been released on their own recognizance. We stopped at the home but did not get a response.
Some neighbors wish the parents would have simply reached out for help.
“I’ve had neighbors knock on my door and ask me, ‘Can you keep my kids for 10 minutes? I need to run to the school.’ And people have kept my kids too,” said Young. “This is a pretty family oriented neighborhood. They could have left the kid with somebody.”
PCSO says there were no prior calls to the house, and the Department of Child Safety says they had no case on the child before this incident. The little boy is now in DCS custody.
“Our agency and many other law enforcement agencies have been warning people about personal safety while playing this interactive smartphone game, but we never would have imagined that parents would abandon a child to play Pokemon Go. This goes beyond comprehension,” Babeu said.
