Mom gets probation for leaving baby in car

CHULA VISTA —  A 26-year-old mother who left her baby in a car while she shopped in a National City store last year was placed on probation Tuesday for a period of four years and ordered to do home detention for 90 days.

Starley Cristal Geart had pleaded guilty in Chula Vista Superior Court to felony child endangerment for leaving her daughter, who was 4 months old at the time, in the car. Geart also admitted an allegation that she caused great bodily injury to the child.

When the girl, Kaylahni, was pulled from the car on July 24, 2012, she was unconscious but appeared to be OK when she was examined at Rady Children’s Hospital.

“A parent should never, ever under any circumstances leave (her) child in a car unattended — ever,” said Judge Ana España, who accepted Geart’s plea at a previous hearing and ordered the sentence Tuesday.

In addition to home detention, Geart was ordered to complete parenting classes, counseling and other requirements imposed by Child Protective Services and the Probation Department. If Geart fails to follow the conditions of probation, she could be sent to jail for up to 270 days, the judge said.

Deputy District Attorney Harrison Kennedy said in court that the defendant put her baby in an “extremely dangerous” situation by leaving her in the car. The prosecutor said people “take better care of their wallets, purses and smartphones” than Geart took care of her daughter that day.

A maintenance worker and a police officer pulled down a car window to get to the baby, who was sweating profusely, according to testimony at a previous hearing. She had been in the car about seven minutes.

Geart’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Jo Anne Tyrell, said her client is a hardworking mother whose behavior showed a “complete lack of judgment” the day of the incident. The attorney said Geart was remorseful for what she had done and that it would never happen again.