Mother arrested after 3-year-old found on the street

TAMPA - It was 1:40 a.m. Sunday morning, not a time when a 3-year-old should be walking alone.

Yet there she was, toddling down Delaware Street. She was crying.

The little girl was scooped up by a man walking on the street. He asked around, and no one knew the girl. The man called Tampa Police.

Officers went through the neighborhood. They knocked on every door, and finally found someone who knew where the girl lived.

The officers went to the house at 948 W Spruce St. According to police spokesman Joe Durkin, the screen door to the home was wide open.

A baby was sleeping on the couch. The baby had a dirty diaper, police noticed.

There were no adults in the house, Durkin said.

"It's a heartbreaking story," Durkin said.

At 2:30 a.m., the mother - Shaquitha Perry - walked in, Durkin said. She told officers that she had gone to buy a soda.

"The neighbor was supposed to watch the house," Durkin said. "The house. Not the kids."

Perry, who is 20, was charged with two counts of child neglect. She was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.

The children were taken into the custody of the state Department of Children and Families.

Hillsborough County headlines

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