A woman formerly of Hot Springs who abandoned an infant she was baby-sitting and stole $1,200 worth of items from the residence before fleeing to Oklahoma has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Crassie Lavon Beasley, 27, who listed a Tahlequah, Okla., address at the time of her arrest, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to felony counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and theft of property over $1,000, and was sentenced to the maximum of six years in prison, with four years suspended.
Beasley, who has remained in custody since she was extradited back to Hot Springs on June 30, will be given credit for time served, and court costs were expunged.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on April 25, the father of a 3-month-old infant reported he had left the child in the care of his girlfriend, identified as Beasley, when he left for work around 12:30 p.m. that day.
When he returned to his Pullman Avenue residence shortly after 8:30 p.m., he found the back door open, several items missing from the home and the child unattended on the floor.
The child's mother stated that Beasley had watched her child and her friend's children before, and there had never been any problems. She said she learned from Hot Springs Taxi Co. that a taxi had been dispatched to the residence shortly before 6:30 p.m.
Hot Springs police detective Hunter Scott located and interviewed the cabdriver, who stated that he was dispatched to the residence on Pullman where he picked up two people, a white woman and a black man, and transported them to an address on Cypress Street.
He noted that they were carrying several totes and garbage bags. He had asked them if they were going to be able to pay for the taxi ride, and the man replied, "Yes, but if not, I will give you a PlayStation 4." The driver noted that he never saw an infant.
After the incident, Beasley blocked the child's mother and father on social media and had no further contact with either of them. The father estimated the value of the items stolen from the residence to be $1,200.
Police posted photos of Beasley on social media, and she was taken into custody in Oklahoma on June 3.
Metro on 12/14/2018