Texas Parents Arrested After Leaving 3 Children In Car While At Dinner

A Texas couple has been arrested after police said they left their kids in the car while the parents went out to dinner.

Joseph Belis, 28, and Cassidy Belis, 27, left their three children in the car with the engine running for over an hour while they were eating and drinking inside a Texas Roadhouse in Odessa, according to the Odessa Police Department the Odessa American.

Several witnesses called 911 to report the situation. When police arrived on the scene, they found the Belis' Escalade parked on the side of the restaurant with the engine running and the children inside. The Odessa Police Department probable cause affidavit said Texas Roadhouse employees made an announcement about the Escalade and were able to contact Joseph and Cassidy Belis.

The couple arrived at the restaurant at 4221 N. Grandview Avenue around 6:45 p.m., Joseph Belis told police. He said they were alternating going to the bathroom before they all went inside the restaurant. He added Cassidy Belis later took the kids to the car. Their 7-year-old son had a cell phone and could call the parents if needed, he said.

The Odessa American reported an investigation showed one of the children exited the vehicle for an unknown amount of time, leaving another child in the car for an unknown period of time. The investigation found the parents were consuming alcohol inside the restaurant and they both had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage from their breath. Two ounces of marijuana were also found in the center console of the vehicle, police said.

The couple was arrested and transported to the Ector County Law Enforcement Center on March 6, the Odessa American reported. They were each charged with child abandonment and endangering a child and each had one bond totaling $7,500. They posted bail the same day.