Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – April 3, 2024 – A 33-year-old Jonesboro woman was charged with two felonies Wednesday after letting a 7-year-old boy walk to school alone.
A Craighead County deputy was called to Craighead Road 457 on Tuesday after a man reported that a 7-year-old boy walked up to his farm shop.
The man said the boy told him he was walking to Valley View School because he missed the school bus that morning. The boy said he would get into trouble at home if he missed school.
Valley View Schools is more than 7 miles from Craighead Road 457.
Deputy Lloyd Norman talked to the child, who said he had gotten into trouble the night before and he was forced to go to bed without his supper. He told the deputy that two other boys, ages 2 and 3, also lived in the house.
The boy told the deputy that the was also told to set the alarm to wake himself up and get himself ready for school because “she wasn’t going to.” The boy said it was dark, and he missed the bus.
Norman asked him if he had eaten breakfast, and the boy said no. The deputy gave the boy some beef jerky that he had with him.
When the deputy took the boy back to his home, he was unable to get a response from the homeowner, Amber Nicole Thompson. He and another deputy entered the house through the unlocked front door and called for Thompson but still got no response. They searched the home and found the other two boys asleep, and located Thompson asleep in one of the bedrooms.
Thompson told the deputies that it was not her problem if the boy walked to school. She said the 7-year-old was old enough to get himself up and get ready for school.
Thompson was arrested and taken to the Craighead County Detention Center.
The state Department of Human Services came to the residence and bruises were found on the 3-year-old boy’s face, arms, back and buttocks. Deputies talked with Thompson’s husband who admitted to swatting the boy three times on Sunday for lying.
District Judge David Boling found probable cause to charge Amber Nicole Thompson with second-degree domestic battery of a person older than 60 or less than 12 years of age, a class C felony, and first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent with the risk of death or physical injury, a class D felony.
Boling set Amber Thompson’s bond at $50,000. Her next court date is May 24 in Craighead County Circuit Court.