Two charged with leaving kids home alone

• Tweet

CHICAGO, March 21 (UPI) -- A Chicago couple are charged with child endangerment after allegedly leaving their two children home alone while they went to Las Vegas, police say.

Antowain Johnson and Shanpreta Howard are accused of taking the two-day trip while their children, a 12-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl, were left unsupervised in their home in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. They were charged with two misdemeanor counts of endangering the health and life of a child.

The couple took their trip in late February but charges were not filed until this week.

The boy attended school Feb. 23 and told a teacher his parents had left for Las Vegas the night before, police reports state.

Authorities contacted the father, who informed them he would return Feb. 25. Police then located the aunt of the children, who agreed to take care of them until their parents' return, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.