RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A Jacksonville mother is facing serious charges after police say she left her three children alone inside a tractor-trailer, with a loaded gun on the floor at a Riviera Beach truck stop.
Police were called to a truck stop on September 8 after the truck sat at a gas pump for three hours.
When officers arrived, a 16-year-old boy rolled down the window and said he couldn’t move the truck. A 5-year-old girl was also inside, along with a 20-month-old baby.
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For the child’s safety, officers entered the cab to remove the baby and spotted a Glock 26 pistol on the floorboard. It was fully loaded with seven rounds, including one in the chamber.
Police later found 36-year-old TorQuita Tashe Griffin, who admitted the gun was hers. She told officers she and her companion left the children for about an hour to get food.
Griffin was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on three counts of child abuse, two counts of child neglect, and three counts of unsafe storage of a firearm. Both adults were also trespassed from the truck stop.
Police say the Florida Department of Children and Families is now investigating.
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