Desiree Ramos, 23, was left in charge of her 8-year-old brother and 6-year-old sister on June 29 while their father was at work, court documents state. The father told the Pasadena police that he had lit some religious candles in his room for assistance in finding employment and left them burning when he went to work at about 6:30am.
At about 2:30pm, a witness came in contact with the two children, and after searching the apartment complex for their parents for half an hour, called police. Police arrived on the scene at about 3:45pm, and Ramos showed up shortly after that.
The children told police that Ramos had locked them in the bathroom with an ironing board placed against the door, and told them she would be back in a few minutes. The kids then reportedly jiggled the door until they could knock the board down, got something to eat, and then went outside in search of someone who could assist them in replacing the ironing board against the door after they returned to the bathroom.
Ramos told police that she had left her siblings at the home "to run to the store real quick and the children were asleep" when she left. She denied having placed an ironing board against the bathroom door to prevent the children from leaving.
Ramos has been charged with abandoning a child. Bail in the felony case has been set at $2,000.
