The V.I. Police Department on Monday arrested 32-year-old Shermer Joseph of Prindsens Gade and charged her with child neglect.
According to the police, officers were dispatched at 6 a.m. Monday to investigate a 911 emergency call. The complainant told the officers she’d heard her neighbor screaming and shouting profanities at her minor child sometime around 4 a.m. The woman eventually left the premises at 5:15 a.m., leaving the child locked in the home alone.
The child, a 3-year-old boy, was heard crying uncontrollably as officers attempted to enter the property, according to the report, only to find the entry gate locked. The landlord of the property was summoned to provide entry into the residence.
Officers stationed themselves at the residence awaiting the arrival of the child’s mother, who they said returned to the home at roughly 7:26 a.m. She was identified as Joseph, arrested and charged with child neglect.
Bail for Joseph was set at $1,000 and she was remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending her advice of rights hearing.
