Mom accused of locking 7-year-old in car trunk pleads innocent

[FX]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...marrested.html

Sad.

4:27 p.m. August 25, 2004

SAN DIEGO – A woman accused of locking her 7-year-old son in the trunk of her car while she celebrated her birthday inside an Ocean Beach bar pleaded innocent today to child abuse and false imprisonment charges.

Sara Marie Powell, 27, was arrested after San Diego police got an anonymous tip about midnight Sunday that the child was locked in the trunk of her gray 1985 Volvo. The car was parked outside Winston's Beach Club, authorities said.

Officers knocked on the trunk but got no response, prosecutor Jeffrey Dort said. A dog was also in the car's passenger compartment, the prosecutor said.

Police went into the bar and an announcement was made for Powell to go to her car outside. She responded and the boy was freed, authorities said.

A sleeping bag and pillow were in the trunk. Dort said the child, who had been there about four hours, sat up and said he hadn't made any noise.

"It was like he had been coached not to make any noises and not to tell anyone what had happened," Detective Vince Villalvazo told reporters outside San Diego Police headquarters.

Villalvazo called the alleged crime "callous" and "senseless."

"It's kind of bizarre, a very unusual kind of child endangerment case," the detective said.

The boy told police he had been placed in the trunk about 10 times before, Dort told reporters after Powell's arraignment.

"It just amazed me that someone could do that," the father of two said, adding that the boy is now in protective custody.

Dort told Superior Court Judge David Szumowski the alleged crime was "beyond the pale."

Powell told police she couldn't find a babysitter and wanted to celebrate her birthday, which was on Sunday, the prosecutor said.

Police want to question Powell's boyfriend, 30-year-old Jake Faria, the detective said.

Authorities are also looking for Powell's Volvo, which was not impounded by police after the woman's arrest. The car bears California license plate 4DCN889.

They are also looking for an orange-and-white, 1977 Dodge motor home that the couple apparently had been occupying, with California license plate 2ALH655, Villalvazo said.

Powell faces up to seven years and four months in prison if convicted on each of the four felony charges, including two counts of child abuse and two counts of false imprisonment, Dort said.

Deputy Public Defender Allen Cazares said Powell grew up in San Bernardino County and had lived in San Diego about a year.

The attorney said the defendant has no prior convictions and had been working at an espresso bar.

Dort asked for an increase in Powell's $80,000 bail, saying her only known address is a mail drop. The judge agreed and reset it at $150,000.

The judge also set a readiness conference for Sept. 2 and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 7.

Can't plead innocent now, you dumb slut. Face up to your crime.

[Rumpy]

That's pretty freaking bad. Toss her in jail.

[Jeremy]

More sad proof that this is a sick, disturbing world.

[Chux]

Once he's in the trunk, it's time to get crunk!

[Dolemite]

What a stupid fucking whore. She reminds me of this bitch.

[kabuki]

Women are evil.

[Gohron]

Yeah that's pretty bad, can't imagine what it would be like being stuffed in a trunk for 4 hours. Sick.

[Gymkata]

Hey....with todays technology, kids can learn how to read and play videogames in the trunk. I never had a gameboy or a leap pad electonic book when my mom locked me in the trunk.

[MVS]

No one pleads innocent. They plead "Not guilty".

[Dolemite]

Hey....with todays technology, kids can learn how to read and play videogames in the trunk. I never had a gameboy or a leap pad electonic book when my mom locked me in the trunk.

Nope, your mom just shoved you in there with a bottle of JD and a pack of smokes you you turned out just fine.