Couple Charged with Child Abandonment

TYLER — A Smith County couple has been arrested after being accused of leaving their 7 year old daughter locked in a bathroom. Smith County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Oasis convenience store, 14773 Hwy 110 North Saturday morning regarding a little girl who was found at the store alone. She told deputies that her parents had locked her in the restroom of her house and had left her alone as punishment.

After checking her house, it was determined that no one was there. Deputies also found a chest of drawers against the bathroom door. It was later determined that the 7 year olds parents had pushed the chest of drawers against the door in an attempt to lock her in. She was able to push the door open enough to escape from the restroom and walk to the store. Monday, warrants were issued for both Kimberly and Mark Johnson by 241st State District Judge Jack Skeen for Child Abandonment or Endangering. Judge Skeen set bond at $300,000 on each defendant.

Saturday morning, when deputies identified her parents, a dispatcher called her mother. She told the dispatcher that she was at a park in Tyler and would return to the house to meet deputies. Shortly after that deputies saw Kimberly Johnson driving a black truck, she stopped a short of the residence and let a man out who was later identified as the girl’s father, Mark Anthony Johnson. It was found that Mark Johnson had gotten out of the truck in an attempt to make officers believe that he was at the location and had not left his daughter alone barricaded in the bathroom. He initially told deputies that their 9 year old son had pushed the cabinet against the door as a joke.

Deputies discovered the couple had taken their son to eat at McDonald’s and to ride his bike in a park in Tyler and had left their daughter at home barricaded in the restroom as punishment. When questioning the 9 year old it was discovered his parents had coached him as to what to say deputies in an attempt to conceal the fact of what they had done. It was also discovered that he too had been punished same way in the past. Saturday, both children were removed from the custody of the parents by Child Protective Services.