A woman who is accused of abandoning an infant she was babysitting and stealing $1,200 worth of items from a Hot Springs residence in April before fleeing to Oklahoma was extradited back to Arkansas late Saturday.
Crassie Lavon Beasley, 27, who now lists a Tahlequah, Okla., address, was brought to the Garland County jail shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday and charged with felony counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and theft of property more than $1,000.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday during a video arraignment in Garland County District Court.
According to a probable cause affidavit,, the father of a 3-month-old infant reported he had left the child in the care of his girlfriend, identified as Beasley, when he left for work around 12:30 p.m. April 25.
When he returned to his Hot Springs residence shortly after 8:30 p.m., he found the back door was open, several items were missing from the home and the child had been left unattended on the floor.
The infant's mother told authorities Beasley had watched her child and her friend's children before and never had any problems. She said she learned from Hot Springs Taxi Co. that a taxi had been dispatched to the residence shortly before 6:30 p.m.
Hot Springs police Detective Hunter Scott located and interviewed the cab driver, who said he was dispatched to the residence on Pullman, where he picked up two people — a white woman and a black man — and transported them to an address on Cypress Street.
He noted they were carrying several totes and garbage bags of luggage. He had asked them if they were going to be able to pay for the taxi ride, and the man replied, "Yes, but if not, I will give you a PlayStation 4." The driver noted he never saw an infant.
After that, Beasley reportedly blocked the child's mother and father on social media and had no further contact with either of them. The father estimated the value of the items stolen from the residence to be $1,200.
Police posted photos of Beasley on social media, and she was taken into custody in Oklahoma on June 3. Records show she remained at the Garland County jail Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $4,250 bond.