BRIGANTINE - A Ring camera led police to to the arrest of babysitter who allegedly passed out drunk while the toddler in her custody left the home Monday.
Police were called to the unspecified residence at about 12:33 p.m. by a neighbor who found the child outside the toddler's residence without supervision, according to the report. The child's gender was not specified.
The child's father called the neighbor after seeing the child leave the home on his Ring camera, according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
The neighbor went and got the child, who was in their care when police arrived.
The babysitter was found unresponsive inside the home, police said.
Jena Davidson, 35, of Ventnor, had been hired by the parents through "a well-known online platform used for childcare," police said.
It did not name the platform, but two different sites still had active profiles for Jena Davidson from Ventnor. One on Nanny Lane lists her as a kindergarten teacher with a degree in elementary education from Penn State University.
A police officer found Davidson on the ground in the home conscious but unresponsive, the affidavit states.
An investigation found that Davidson "had consumed a significant amount of the homeowner's alcohol to the point that she became unconscious and unresponsive," police said.
The affidavit goes into more detail, saying there was an empty bottle of tequila that the father said was not empty earlier, the affidavit states.
It also says the officer found alcohol in a mug on the counter, and an empty plastic shot bottle inside Davidson's bag.
Brigantine police, fire and EMS responded, and the woman was taken to the hospital.
The father came to the scene immediately from work, police said.
Patrol officers and the neighbor assumed care of the child until the child’s parent returned home.
Davidson was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. She was released on a summons.
She does not appear to have a criminal history, but does have at least two prior incidents of driving under the influence that are from several years ago. The most recent was 2016, when she also was accused of leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage.
Anyone with further information about this incident is asked to call Brigantine police at 609-266-7414.
