A New Jersey couple were arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly leaving their young kids home alone to go out drinking over Memorial Day weekend, according to police.
Felix Y. Rodriguez, 43, and Lydia Monterrosa, 38, are accused of leaving their two kids, ages 1 and 8, unattended Sunday night at a home in Brigantine, just northeast of Atlantic City.
Officers responded to a residence on the 4900 block of Harbor Beach Blvd. around 9 p.m. after a concerned citizen alerted them about a possible “unsafe situation” at the home, the Brigantine Police Department said in a news release.
After knocking on their door, police located the two young kids and learned their parents were not home at the time.
Rodriguez and Monterrosa were then contacted and instructed to return. When they arrived, “both showed signs of impairment due to alcoholic beverage consumption,” police said.
The two were subsequently arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
They have since been released and are scheduled to appear in the Atlantic County Superior Court, police said Monday.
Thousands of summer-starved tourists flock to the Jersey Shore each Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of beach season. In Seaside Heights — some 60 miles north of Brigantine — this year’s three-day, fun-in-the-sun holiday turned chaotic, with at least three reported stabbings, multiple fights and more than 70 arrests.
