Gambling mother leaves children home alone, report says

A Dayton mother was arrested after police said she left her two children, ages 2 and 8, home alone while she gambled at the racino on Needmore Road, according to a Dayton police report.

Rahshena Smith, 29, was booked into jail on suspicion of three counts of child endangering.

Police responded to Smith’s home in the 3000 block of West Riverview Avenue early Tuesday morning after receiving a neighbor complaint that the mother left the children alone, the report said.

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Officers found Smith at the racino with a few friends playing slot machines and when questioned about leaving her children home alone, Smith admitted to leaving the children at home, the report said.

Smith told police the children were fine and they were sleeping on the couch when she left, the report said.

When officers found the children, the house was dirty and the oven was left on with the door open and the temperature was set to high, according to the report.

Montgomery County Children Services took custody of Smith’s three children, including an older daughter that had run away two or three weeks ago and was not reported missing, the report read.

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