Police: Hopkins Woman Left Kids Home Alone, Drove Drunk to Taco Bell

A Hopkins woman was charged with child neglect after police said she left her two children, ages 18 months and 2 years, home alone while she drove drunk to a fast-food restaurant.

After the woman's arrest, officers found the children at the Oak Park Lane home in their cribs, with the youngest child’s leg stuck between two slats in the crib, according to charging documents.

Emily Kate Pieper, 29, is charged with child neglect, a gross misdemeanor with a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine, and fourth-degree DWI, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Police were called to a report of a vehicle in the ditch just after midnight May 2, according to the criminal complaint, signed by Hopkins Police Sgt. Mike Glassberg.

They found a van in the ditch near the Hopkins and watched as Pieper tried to get out of the van. She fell and stumbled as she tried to regain her footing, the complaint states.

Officers asked Pieper if she needed medical attention, and she said she didn’t. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery. She smelled of alcohol. And she had difficulty walking and was moving lethargically, according to the charging documents.

Pieper told police she went through the Taco Bell drive through the wrong way. When she tried to back up, she went too far and landed in the ditch. She admitted to drinking “one beer” at home, the complaint states.

Police conducted field sobriety tests, determined that Pieper was legally drunk and arrested her, according to the complaint. When they told Pieper she was being arrested, she replied, “What? Wait a minute, my kids are at home,” according to the charging documents.

When they tried to handcuff Pieper, she said, “My kids are at home—1 and 2 years old. Do you not care about them? I need to go home,” according to the complaint. She asked officers if she could stop at home to check on the children and told them that the babysitter had just left, according to Glassberg’s account.

Officers took Pieper to the police station, and an officer went to her home to check on the children. When police asked Pieper if the officer could enter, she said, “No, that’s ridiculous. You cannot go inside,” according to the complaint.

Police entered after knocking for several minutes without any response and found the children in their cribs.

Pieper is free on a $6,000 bond and has been ordered to abstain from alcohol and have no contact with the children. An omnibus hearing in her case is scheduled May 31 in Hennepin County District Court.

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