Parents accused of leaving kids in car while gambling released from jail

Josephine Laidler, Tyrell Johnson arrested at Hialeah Park Racing & Casino

HIALEAH, Fla. – A mother and father accused of leaving their children in the car while they gambled for more than an hour at Hialeah Park Racing & Casino were released from jail Friday.

Josephine Laidler  and Tyrell Johnson were granted a pre-trial release Friday morning. A judge said if they met certain conditions they would not have to pay $5,000 bond each.

Laidler was released earlier in the afternoon and Johnson was released around 4:45 p.m.

Laidler and Johnson are accused of leaving their 1-and 4-year-old sons in their car while they gambled early Thursday morning.

Police said a security guard spotted the boys in the running car, and said the air conditioning was on and the doors unlocked.

"The kids were subject to anything happening to them," said Carl Zogby of the Hialeah Police Department. "They could have walked out of the car or somebody could have come and opened the car."

The children are temporarily in the custody of their maternal grandparents. A second shelter hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12.


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