OAKDALE, Calif. – A woman was arrested Sunday in Oakdale after police say she left her 11-year-old son and 39 cats unattended inside a moving truck.
Police responded to the Motel 6 on F Street around 4 p.m. to investigate a report of a woman needing help for her sick cats.
Officers say they found 51-year-old Heidi Gusman, of Modesto, in the lobby. Police said investigators were also told that there were banging noises coming from inside the cargo portion of a moving truck.
When officers opened the truck, they found the child and cats "in significant distress" from being confined in the hot truck.
The high temperature in Oakdale reached triple digits on Sunday.
Gusman was arrested and booked into jail on child cruelty and animal cruelty charges. Gusman's son was put in protective custody.
