MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police said a woman has been arrested after a video shared online showed two children getting out of pet kennels inside the trunk of an SUV in Memphis on Saturday evening.
Sixty-two-year-old Leimome Cheeks was arrested and charged with two counts of child endangerment, WREG reported.
According to the affidavit, the children told police there was no room in the backseat, so their grandmother told them to get inside the dog cages.
Cheeks admitted that she drove the children in the kennels from Whitehaven to Collierville, which is a 35-minute ride.
"I'm just so sad for the babies. For them to be in the hot car like that in cages is sad," neighbor Nikita Blake said.
With temperatures reaching the 95-degree mark, the 7 and 8-year-old told officers they were hot since there were no vents in the back of the vehicle.
A woman has been arrested after a video shared online showed two children getting out of pet kennels inside the trunk of an SUV.
Neighbors are trying to piece together the thought behind her actions.
"I'm still shocked. I really can't see her doing that. She's such a nice lady, " neighbor Skylark Blake said.
Neighbors said Cheeks just bought two German Shepherd puppies that she would put in the kennels in the back of her truck. They say she's a woman of faith and a very nice lady.
"I think she needs some help. Something is going on with her. If she did that, then that's out of character for her," one neighbor said.
The video was filmed by a concerned citizen who said he to happened be in the right place at the right when he witnessed the unusual sight.
He told WREG he hopes the video will motivate others to call authorities when they see wrong things happening.
WREG tried reaching family for comment, but had not heard back at last check.
Cheeks is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning.
