Antioch mom arrested after 4 children found unsupervised at "uninhabitable" home
Police in Antioch on Friday confirmed the arrest of a woman who allegedly left her four young children unattended at a home that a Contra Costa Fire hazmat crew determined to be uninhabitable, authorities said.
According to the press release issued early Friday afternoon, on Thursday shortly before 5 p.m., Antioch officers responded to a requested welfare check regarding a two-year-old child who was seen by a passerby alone and outside a home on the 2000 block of Spruce Way. Arriving officers found the child and discovered the front door of the residence was unlocked.
Police knocked and announced themselves at the door, but got no response. Police entered the home in order to ensure the child's safety, and found three additional young children -- a second two-year-old, a five-year-old and an eight-year-old -- with no adults present. Police determined the children required medical attention, and a Contra Costa Fire crew and paramedics were called to the home. All four children were transported to area hospitals for further evaluation, police said.
The children's mother, identified as 36-year-old Antioch resident Shante Alberty, later arrived at the home and was placed under arrest on child abuse-related charges. She was later booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. According to authorities, several tests conducted by a Con Fire hazmat team found the home to be "uninhabitable." Police did not provide specifics regarding the condition of the home that led to that assessment.
Police said all four children were medically cleared and placed into the custody of Child and Family Services (CFS). No additional information was available regarding the case, police said. Any further information will be provided at a later time by the Antioch Police Department Investigations Bureau.
