MILWAUKEE — A 29-year-old Milwaukee man apparently left his grandmother locked in his car for nearly 16 hours while he gambled at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, according to a criminal complaint.
Wesley M. Brown was charged with three felonies: intentionally subject an individual at risk to abuse — likely to cause bodily harm; false imprisonment; and second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
On Dec. 14, officers were dispatched to the casino at about 5:05 a.m. Officers attempted to speak with the suspect’s grandmother, but she seemed confused and did not understand the questions. Brown eventually told police he is the woman’s caretaker and she suffers from dementia.
A security officer drove around the parking structure about 4:40 a.m., and he noticed a parked car was not running and all the windows were fogged up like someone was inside, according to the criminal complaint.
The security guard tried to open the car doors, but they were locked. A while later, Brown reportedly showed up at the vehicle after being paged. He said he owned the car. A security officer checked the surveillance video and learned the car was parked in the spot since 12:53 p.m. Dec. 13.
The outside temperature when officers responded to the scene was 37 degrees, according to the criminal complaint. An officer noted Brown’s grandmother was confined to the back seat with a seat belt. The officers were not able to get the seat belt off, and it was so tight that it reportedly embedded into the grandmother’s skin. The seat belt eventually was removed with a knife.
An officer also said there was no food or water in the car. The grandmother also reportedly was wearing a soiled diaper.
