Pa. mother charged with abandoning child, 3, at hair salon

WILKES-BARRE — A mother went on an alcohol and ecstasy binge after she abandoned her 3-year-old daughter at a hair salon in the 300 block of South Main Street on Sunday.

Rasheedah J. Fields, 42, of Park Avenue Towers, Park Avenue, left the child at the hair salon at approximately 2 p.m. Sunday and was not located until about 18 hours later during a separate domestic dispute at a residence on Dana Street on Monday, according to court records.

The child was cared for by the salon and was eventually taken into protective custody by Luzerne County Children and Youth Services.

When Fields was located, police in court records say she had an odor of an alcoholic beverage. Fields claimed she took ecstasy and consumed liquor and had been on a four day bender, court records say.

Fields was arraigned by District Judge Rick Cronauer of Wilkes-Barre on a single count of endangering the welfare of children. She was released after posting $10,000 bail.

According to the criminal complaint:

Fields took her daughter to a hair salon on South Main Street on Sunday. After she was finished, she asked if her daughter can get a hair style but was told the salon does not work on children.

Fields walked out of the salon at about 2 p.m. telling those inside the salon she was going outside for a cigarette but never returned.

Employees at the salon gave the child snacks and beverages and eventually called police when Fields failed to return.

Efforts at identifying and locating the child’s mother failed as the child was taken into protective custody.

Fields was eventually identified as the child’s mother when police responded to a residence on Dana Street about 7:22 a.m. Monday for a domestic disturbance.

Police learned Fields arrived at the Dana Street house at about 8 p.m. Sunday.

When Fields was identified as the child’s mother, she made statements about not knowing where her daughter was at and “all I wanna do is go home and smoke a carton of (cigarettes),” the complaint says.

Police learned Fields, while in the company of her daughter earlier Sunday morning, was investigated by Hanover Township police on allegations of stealing alcohol from a convenient store.