| Updated: 12/07/2012 10:02 pm |
Published: 12/07/2012 9:33 pm
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A Broken Arrow man is accused of leaving his two young children in his car while he went inside a restaurant for a drink.
31-year-old Jason Murray faces charges including: two counts of child abuse & neglect, possession of a firearm under the influence, carrying a firearm into a place where liquor is sold and public intoxication.
For at least 20 minutes, Broken Arrow Police say a toddler and an infant sat alone in a car in the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot.
"Somebody could've just jumped in that vehicle and taken off with them," said Broken Arrow Police Corporal Leon Calhoun.
He told FOX23, the car doors were locked but the car was still running and the children were crying when police arrived. The arrest report list the toddler as having a medical condition.
"They're not able to take care of themselves," said Calhoun.
He says when they found Murray his speech was slurred and he was slow to respond to questions from police. They say he even lied about putting the children in the car at first. The father later confessed that he did. Police also say after 30 minutes in custody Murray told officers he was carrying a gun. He had a valid gun carry license but failed to notify police that he had the gun upon contact.
"Obviously a very poor judgment on his part," Calhoun added.
FOX23’s Dontaye Carter spoke with Murray’s wife.
She preferred to stay off camera told him she's shocked. The mother added that her husband has been going through a rough period without consistent work and that he likely made a poor decision because of the stress he's been under. However, Calhoun says that decision clearly put his children at risk.
"A child predator or something like that couldn't saw this opportunity to take these children," he said.
Bond was set for Murray at $107,100.
As of Friday night, he was still in jail.
