Seffner Mom Arrested After 2 Kids Found Roaming

SEFFNER, FL — A 34-year-old Seffner woman faces several criminal charges after reports of two small children wandering on Clewis Avenue came into the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.

According to the agency, the children, a boy and girl, were seen walking in the 4600 block of Clewis Avenue around 4:30 p.m. March 15.

The children, who are not being identified, are both under the age of 5, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media Thursday. They were “not wearing underwear or pants,” the email noted. No adult supervision was provided.

Deputies say they located the children’s mother, April Janine Lopez, at her home. She was in bed, “passed out asleep,” the email said. Deputies called out to wake her up, the email said, but she wouldn’t.

“After numerous times of yelling and flashing a light in her face, she woke up,” the email said. “Deputies gave Lopez a lawful command to get out of bed, however, she shook her head ‘no.’ Lopez was forced out of bed and deputies immediately smelled alcohol emitting off of her breath. Lopez' eyes were glassy, watery, and heavy and she appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or a controlled substance.”

Deputies later obtained a search warrant for Lopez’s home.

According to the sheriff’s office, the search turned up a “multicolored glass pipe next to the bed where Lopez was sleeping,” the email said. Marijuana was also found, the email said.

Lopez has been charged with two counts of felony child neglect, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The sheriff’s office hasn’t said what happened to the children after Lopez’s arrest.

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Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office