SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man was arrested Monday on suspicion of child endangerment after leaving his granddaughter with a homeless woman to go to a Sacramento County bar.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said around 7:45 p.m. deputies responded to a parking lot of a bar in the 5300 block of Auburn Boulevard. A caller reported a man was asking people for help because his 7-year-old granddaughter had been kidnapped for human trafficking.
When deputies arrived, the man, later identified as 54-year-old Jason Warren, was "highly intoxicated," according to the sheriff's office.
Warren told deputies he gave a homeless woman $20 to take his granddaughter to a thrift store while he went to a bar. The sheriff's office said he was at the bar for about four hours.
Deputies found surveillance video of a woman leaving with the child. About half an hour into the search, the women heard the announcements from the sheriff's helicopter and brought the child back to the parking lot.
She confirmed with deputies Warren gave her $20 to take the child to a thrift store. She also said he was intoxicated and she didn't think he could take care of a child, so she took the child to her camp to get food.
The child confirmed the woman's account with deputies and wasn't in distress, according to the sheriff's office. The child was medically cleared as a precaution.
The sheriff's office said during the investigation it found the child's aunt had full custody and asked Warren to watch the child because she had to go to work. The child returned home with her aunt.
Warren was arrested and is being accused of felony child endangerment and other charges. He is being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail on $75,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
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