The Georgia father accused of leaving his three young children alone at a McDonald’s while he went for a job interview was not looking for work at the time of his arrest, police say.
Chris Louis – who was charged with deprivation of a minor for the March 22 fast food incident – left his three kids, ages 1, 6 and 10, alone at the restaurant for about an hour and a half, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday, according to the Augusta Press.
The 24-year-old was detained by police in his returning to the burger joint, after officials were unable to corroborate his whereabouts.
Louis told officials he had filled out an application at the West Bank Inn next door earlier in the day and was waiting for a callback.
Police poked holes in Louis’ alibi when they went to the inn and spoke with an employee, who confirmed Louis had filled out a job application at around 1:30 p.m. but was not expecting any return call for an interview.
Security footage captured Louis walking around the hotel at 1:30 p.m, but not around 4:30 p.m. when he allegedly left his kids at the fast-food joint.
Two eagle-eyed customers saw the three kids inside the restaurant around 4:30 p.m. as Louis talked to someone on the phone.
The customers heard Louis say that he needed to “drop something off” before he left the store and the unaccompanied kids for nearly 90 minutes.
The unidentified customers reported the odd exchange with police.
Louis’ oldest daughter had told police she and her family had walked to the McDonald’s from The Hendrix, an apartment complex less than a mile down the road where her mother lived.
The responsible girl allegedly claimed her father frequently left them alone when he was watching them.
The 10-year-old girl told officials her dad had a backpack and was supposed to deliver it to their mom, Lissette Pichardo.
Pichardo was contacted by her daughter over social media telling her to go to McDonald’s to meet with the police.
Pichardo arrived at the restaurant at 6:12 p.m. and called Louis to get him to return.
Louis claimed he was at the apartments looking for her but never did and couldn’t deliver the bag.
During his delivery, Louis reportedly lost his ID and another card and was retracing his steps in search of the missing cards.
The sheriff’s office stood by the arrest, asserting on Wednesday that Louis was not attending a job interview at the time of his arrest while he did leave his small children unattended.
“Given the facts and timeline established through BWC footage, witness statements, and follow-up investigation, it was determined that a misdemeanor charge of Deprivation of a Minor was appropriate to ensure the welfare of the children and facilitate a review of the matter by the court,” Richmond County Sheriff Captain Danny Whitehead said.
News of Louis’ arrests went viral and caught the attention of former NFL star Antonio Brown who set up a GoFundMe for the dad.
The fundraiser has raised over $75,000 in its first 24 hours.
Brown said he spoke to Louis’ girlfriend after the arrest and she claimed they were homeless and he attended the job interview.