A mall shopper heard the cries of twin infants coming from inside a Cadillac Escalade on Wednesday afternoon, and when she saw there was no adult with them, she called police.
security detained Amanda Nejat, 46, at her SUV until the police could get there, said Officer Larry Cox of the .
The Danville woman had allegedly been inside the mall for 40 minutes, and told police initially that she just went in to use the bathroom. Later, police say she admitted that she did some shopping and even returned some things.
Nejat was arrested around 6:15 p.m. on suspicion of felony child endangerment, and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case today, Friday, to decide how to charge her.
Cox said that a woman walked by the SUV in the Stoneridge parking lot and heard infant cries. She looked through the tinted windows and saw two car seats with 11-week-old twins inside, both crying.
"She kind of did a double take when she first heard this," he said, noting that the passerby is a mom herself.
"As a parent, you know the difference between an infant cry and the cry of an older child."
Cox said the passerby saw that there was no adult inside, so she called Pleasanton police, then mall security.
As mall security officers and the witness waited by the car, Nejat came out, Cox said.
"They told her they'd called police, and that she needed to wait there," Cox said. "She didn't try to flee or anything like that."
Initially she said she just stopped for a minute to find a restroom, but then changed her story. Cox said police know for sure she was inside for 40 minutes because of security camera footage.
She admitted to shopping and returning some things, Cox said. She didn't say what she was shopping for.
She was arrested on the spot. Her husband picked up the babies and took them home, Cox said.
Patch will update this story as new information comes out.
Patch editor Terry Parris Jr. contributed to this story.
To reach editor Tanya Rose, e-mail tanya.rose@patch.com.
