Reynolds told police he pushed the cart with his daughter in it next to his car by the cart corral while he loaded his groceries into his vehicle.
“He stated he was gone approximately three minutes, when he realized he left his daughter in the cart. He then turned around and drove back to the store,” according to records filed in Clark County Municipal Court.
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Officers responded to Meijer, 1500 Hillcrest Ave., after a woman called 911 after she found the child in the parking lot just after 8 a.m. Monday.
Bonnie Johnson said she was walking to her car when she heard a baby crying. She didn’t see anything so she finished loading her groceries into her car. She heard the cry again after she got into her car and rolled down the windows, she said.
She drove about 75 feet in the direction of the sound and found a little girl, Johnson said.
“I saw not an infant, not a toddler, a 14-month-old baby strapped in a car seat and in a cart itself and the cart was in the cart corral,” Johnson said. “My heart just sank immediately. There were a lot of emotions running through my head.”
The child’s safety was a lot more important than anything else Johnson said. So, she unbuckled the child and held her. In that time, she looked her over and called 911. While she was on the phone, Reynolds came back.
“Dad came back; he was crying. He was shaking really hard. He was visibly distraught,” Johnson said.
The child was released to her mother.
Reynolds entered a non-guilty plea to the court via his lawyer, according to a Clark County Municipal Court Clerk.
His next court date was not listed.
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