Parents Charged After Leaving Liquor Store With 4 Kids Strapped To Hood Of Car

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Police have charged a man accused of driving three blocks with four young children strapped to the hood of his vehicle with driving while intoxicated and neglect of a dependent.

Fort Wayne police were called about 5:30 p.m. Monday after someone saw a man and woman strap four children to the hood of a car in the parking lot of a liquor store at 2116 Fairfield Ave. and then drive away, according to a statement from police spokesman John Chambers.

A U.S. marshal saw the vehicle driving on Fairfield Avenue with the children strapped to it, the statement said. The marshal stopped the car in the 400 block of Poplar Street – 0.2 miles or about three blocks away, the statement said.

The children were 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old, and they were not injured.

Police spokeswoman Raquel Foster issued a statement Tuesday morning that said Aaron S. Stefanski, 29, of Fort Wayne, faces felony neglect charges and three counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and that Jessica A. Clark, 29, of Fort Wayne, also faces a felony neglect charge or charges.

http://www.journalgazette.net/articl...969/1002/LOCAL

Witnesses called 911 Monday night after they spotted a man and woman pull out of a liquor store parking lot with four children tied down with tow straps.

"They were strapped down with one of those straps you crank on a semi to hold down lumber. They were strapped with that thing, wiggling and wobbling down the street," said witness Tom Nowak.

The children -- 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old -- told WPTA-TV that the adults asked if they wanted to ride on the hood of the car and they thought it would be fun.

Aaron S. Stefanski, 29, who is the father of three of the children, was arrested on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Witnesses said he told police, "It was only 20 feet," and acted as if it were a joke.

Jessica A. Clark, 29, who is the mother of one of the children, was arrested on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent.

The ex-wife of the man who was driving the car came to the scene. She told WPTA that she was "livid and in shock" and that she would be asking for full custody.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/31026982/detail.html

[cubby]

I think babies mama will have it pretty easy getting full custody, since she's got so many witnesses as to the stupidity of babies daddy.

This one is just so idiotically stupid there are no words.......

[Tundratot]

Must be relatives of those folks who were dragging their granddaughter around behind their truck in her Barbie Jeep.

[AngelFire]

"They were strapped down with one of those straps you crank on a semi to hold down lumber. They were strapped with that thing, wiggling and wobbling down the street," said witness Tom Nowak.

The children -- 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old -- told WPTA-TV that the adults asked if they wanted to ride on the hood of the car and they thought it would be fun.

Of course they thought it would be fun, they are 4,5,6 & 7 years old. See, that is the difference between a kid and a fucking adult, as an adult you know better. Otherwise a shit load of us would be riding strapped to the hood of a car too. I have a feeling that even sober these 2 morons wouldn’t be able to be trusted with yesterday’s trash.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The parents probably needed the room in the car for all the booze they bought at the liquor store. At least they used tie-down straps and not some cheap ass bungee cords. Those things are notoriously dangerous for use on squirming kids.

[Silvahalo]

Witnesses said he told police, "It was only 20 feet," and acted as if it were a joke.

The jokes on them. idiots.

[Killroy]

Fort Wayne, IN – We just had a story about some Florida grandparents driving drunk while pulling their granddaughter behind them in a toy car, now we have a pair of morons in Indiana driving drunk with four kids strapped to the hood of a car.
Police were called after witnesses watched 29-year-old Aaron Stefanski and 29-year-old Jessica A. Clark leave a liquor store and proceed to use a tow strap to tie four children, ages ages 4, 5, 6, and 7, to the hood of their car before driving off.
A police officer would pull Stefanski over after observing him driving the car a few blocks away from the store with the children still strapped to the hood.
“I was only going to drive around the corner,” said Stefanski, whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. “I thought they would like it.”
He was arrested and charged with three felony counts of neglect of a dependent, felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated and four misdemeanor counts of criminal recklessness. His 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old and 5-year-old sons were later released to their mother.
Clark, who tried to walk away from the scene after the couple were pulled over, was arrested and charged with felony neglect of a dependent.…

This article is from The Dreamin' Demon, the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.


"Read the full Front Page article..."

[Marv]

@Dakota Valkyrie, you have flabbered my ghast with this thread.

Un-fucking-believable. It really is hard to comprehend such stupidity as this!

[Aena]

My daughter posted this on her Facebook the other day, we live in Indiana and she seen it on the news. She was in shock that someone could do something like this, I said I obviously sheltered you way too much growing up, read this website for a couple days and then tell me about shock.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Aaron S. Stefanski, 29, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of neglect of a dependent and one felony count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

As part of the plea agreement, he must attend and complete parenting classes, and have no contact with the children except for supervised visits at SCAN.

Several other misdemeanor charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Sentencing is set for next month. The plea agreement does not call for a specific sentence, leaving any time behind bars being set by Judge Wendy Davis.
[...]

http://www.journalgazette.net/articl...613/1002/LOCAL

[Icy]

Indiana Man Pleads Guilty To Neglect And DWI

A Fort Wayne, Ind., father has pleaded guilty to four charges related to a incident in which he strapped four children to the hood of his car.

The Journal Gazette reported that 29-year-old Aaron Stefanski pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of child neglect and a charge of driving while intoxicated.
Stefanski used yellow tow straps to secure four children — three of his own — to the hood of a white sedan, according to The Journal Gazette.

When officers stopped him as he was driving with the kids on the hood, Stefanski said he was “only going to drive around the corner” and “thought they would like it,” according to court documents.

The documents also show Stefanski’s blood-alcohol level was more than double the legal limit at the time of the May incident.
Stefanski was scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 3. He could face up to three years in prison, The Journal Gazette reported.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20...od-of-car?lite

[Krystal]

I hate to admit this but in the area where I live I have actually seen this before. Rednecks are notorious for letting their kids do things like this. Now, I haven't seen it in many years but I have seen it.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Wearing a shirt and tie, Aaron Stefanski looked totally different than the disheveled intoxicated man depicted in police photographs taken after he was arrested in May for driving his car with four children strapped to the hood.

Stefanski, 29, of the 200 block of East DeWald Street, told Allen Superior Judge Wendy Davis he regretted his actions every minute of every day since his arrest on May 7.

"I let alcohol make the decision for me," he said, adding he has not been able to see or talk to his children since his arrest.

But he admitted he deserved not to see his children right now, and asked that he be allowed to remain free from prison so he can continue working his two jobs and continue his treatment for alcohol addiction.
[...]

Stefanski's attorney, David Zent, asked Davis to consider Stefanski's relative lack of a criminal history. He has a misdemeanor conviction for carrying a handgun without a license. Zent said Stefanski took responsibility for his actions early on, and began addressing his alcoholism and took parenting classes.

The children's mother, Stefanski's ex-wife, told the court that he has been an excellent father, with the exception of this incident, and said he is beginning to put his life back together. She also asked for him to remain free from prison.

But Allen County Prosecutor Tasha Lee stressed the extraordinary potential for injury in Stefanski's actions, which drew national media attention to the city.

She reminded the court Stefanski was already drunk when he picked up the children, then went to the liquor store to buy more alcohol and decided to strap the children to the hood of the car because it sounded like fun.

As Lee talked, Stefanski closed his eyes. As Davis lectured him about the nature of his actions, Stefanski struggled to hold back tears and put his head on his folded hands on the table before him.

Davis said she found the facts of the case "incredibly aggravating," and reminded him of his duty to protect his children.

"They would have done anything you asked," Davis said.

Crafting a sentence that combined some charges together and put some charges one after another, Davis sentenced Stefanski to a total of four years in prison. But she suspended 2 1/2 years, and ordered that time to be served on probation.

She then allowed him to serve the remaining 18 months on home detention, which allows him to keep his jobs and continue his counseling.

http://www.journalgazette.net/articl...860/1002/LOCAL