Lockport woman fails to appear in court after charges of leaving children unattended in vehicle while at bar

Two warrants have been issued for the arrest of a Lockport woman charged twice with leaving her children unattended in a vehicle while she was at a bar because she failed to make a court appearance, records show.

Kimberly Wells, 37, of Lockport, failed to make an appearance on Aug. 15 and Aug. 16 at the Will County Courthouse after prosecutors charged her in two separate cases with endangering the life and health of her children, according to court records.

As a result, two warrants were issued for Wells’ arrest.

One warrant carried a $3,000 bond while another had a $5,000 bond. Wells will have to post 10% of the bonds for those warrants in order to be released from custody.

Wells was first arrested on June 28, after officers responded to a report of Wells leaving her two sons – ages 2 and 3 – unattended in a vehicle while she was inside Crow’s Nest bar, 1400 N. Center St., Joliet, according to Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English.

The interior of the vehicle appeared to be in squalid condition and the children were not fully clothed, English said. Following Wells’ arrest, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services were notified of the incident, he said.

On July 18, Will County prosecutors charged Wells with two misdemeanor counts of endangering the life and health of her children.

Wells was present in court on the same day and pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show.

Three days before Wells’ July 18 court appearance, she had been arrested for a second time after she was accused of leaving her two children unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Los Gaveños bar, 1101 N. Hickory St., Joliet, according to English.

Officers arrived at the scene and found two boys seated in child seats in the backseat of the vehicle, which the officers observed was in deplorable condition, English said. The vehicle was unattended and the windows were closed, he said.

Wells left Los Gaveños bar and told the officers she was the mother of the children, English said. The officers determined that Wells had been drinking inside the bar between a 30 minutes to an hour, he said.

DCFS was again notified of the incident, English said.

On Aug. 16, prosecutors charged Wells with another two misdemeanor counts of endangering the life and health of her children child. She failed appear in court the same day, court records show.