A 35-year-old North Carolina mother faces multiple charges after allegedly leaving an infant and a toddler in an overheating van while she shoplifted at a Walmart with her 3-year-old daughter. The younger children were found sweating and unresponsive inside the vehicle after the toddler mentioned them to police. Both were hospitalized in stable condition.
On Saturday, March 14, around 6:15 p.m., Erika Dixon Johnson, 35, was detained at the Walmart in the 500 block of Pamlico Plaza in Washington, North Carolina, about 250 miles east of Charlotte, according to court records reviewed by Law & Crime. Johnson had been previously notified by Walmart's Loss Prevention division not to enter the store, leading to a charge of second-degree trespassing on top of shoplifting by concealment of goods. Documents state she unlawfully and willfully hid various clothing items in a trash can to avoid paying for them while accompanied by her 3-year-old daughter. During questioning by Washington Police Department officers, the child mentioned her two siblings still in the parked car. Johnson allegedly lied about the vehicle's location, resulting in two counts of resisting a public officer. Officers located the blue van in an accessible parking spot in front of the store, where a 3-month-old infant and a 2-year-old were found overheating, sweating, and not moving, a law enforcement official told WITN. The children were transported to a local hospital and reported stable. Johnson is held at Beaufort County Detention Center on $35,000 bond, with a court appearance scheduled for April 6.