Parents Accused of Taking Children on Burglary
Reuters, April 23, 2009
A mother was accused on Wednesday of driving a getaway minivan with her two young children inside after burglaries at two New York City homes.
Prosecutors said Erika Santana, 23, drove the van with her four-year-old and five-month-old children inside after Hugo Lantigua, 22, who is the baby’s father, and Pedro Camillo, 19, broke into two houses in the borough of Queens.
Santana, Lantigua and Camillo face charges including burglary, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child, and face up to 25 years in prison.
“It is unthinkable that a mother and father would put their children in harm’s way while allegedly committing these crimes. It is even more unimaginable that they would allegedly do so with a loaded handgun in their vehicle,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
