Mom Poses for Mugshot After Abandoning Kids: Police

A mom in Kentucky was all smiles in her. mugsh shot after her arrest for child. endangerment. But the accusations. against her are really no laughing. matter. What could have led Morgan. Chapman to allegedly leave her two young. children home by themselves reportedly. for hours? And does the potential. punishment fit the alleged crime? Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Pikeville, Kentucky is a very small town. in Eastern Kentucky. It's near the. borders of Virginia and West Virginia.

Has an estimated population of only. about 7,000 people. This is according to. the latest census data. But it is sure. getting a lot of attention right now. And it's all because of a mugsh shot. that has gone absolutely viral. We are. talking about 23-year-old Morgan. Chapman, also known as Morgan Miller, who was arrested on a very serious. charge of child endangerment and was. booked into the Pike County Detention. Center earlier this week. Now, a. citation report filed by the Pikeville.

Police Department kind of gives us. details about what officers say. happened. And this was on September 8th. at the Northgate Apartments. We're going. to talk about it. Not going to do it. alone. Let me bring on attorney, criminal defense attorney John Day. John, thanks so much for coming on. First of all, um before we dig into the. details, child endangerment, my. understanding that is a class A. misdemeanor in Kentucky that usually can. range for a whole like a whole wide. range of things, right? Is that more of. like a catchall kind of charge?

>> Yeah, thanks for having me. It's Yeah, it is. You know, in Kentucky, that's a. high level misdemeanor. In a lot of. other jurisdictions, this would be. considered a felony, but um child. endangerment is simply you're putting a. child in a place where they could get. hurt, not necessarily that they did get. hurt. So, it's a pretty broad uh. encompassing charge in this case. And is. it usually charged as a standalone. charge or do you usually see it coupled. with something else? >> Well, it can be. I mean, if it's um you. know, a lot of times you see it in cases.

where someone's picked up for a DUI, DWI, they've got a child in the card. Depending on the jurisdiction, it's a. standalone uh you know, a lot of states. it's actually a felony. So, it's. interesting that in Kentucky that. something like this would be a high. level misdemeanor. Um, and whereas in. other states, you're going to see this. charged on the felony level. >> Okay, so here's what we seem to know. based on the reporting. We go to Monday, September 8th. This is around 900 p.m. And Pikeville police, they respond to.

this apartment complex for a call about. a domestic disturbance. When they go to. the apartment, they found two young. children, no adults. Okay. The report. reads, "Upon arrival, I attempted to. make contact with the residents of the. apartment. Upon knocking, two very young. children opened the door. Upon doing a. protective sweep of the apartment, it. was discovered that the children were. left home alone. After further contact. with the children, it was discovered. that the children were four and two.

years old." John, let me stop right. there. Leaving kids that age alone for. even a few minutes, putting the law. aside, it's a recipe for disaster. very. concerning. But in and of itself, is. that child endangerment? >> Uh, short answer, yes. This is like a. strict liability crime. Like, you know, the equivalent in traffic laws would be. speeding. You're over the you're over. the speed limit. You leave a child alone. even for a few minutes. There's really. no excuse in the law. It's like, well, I. was just going to go to the neighbor's.

house. I was just going to go. I mean, four and two, they can get into all. sorts of situations. So, yes, uh, that's. a crime in and of itself. It does. Nothing bad has to actually happen to. get charged with child endangerment. >> By the way, if you have these two young. children coming to the door, it might be. difficult to understand from them as. like witnesses what's going on, how'. this happen, right? >> Yeah. And somebody had to make the call. I mean, this was this a concerned. neighbor, a concerned family member. I.

mean, somebody noticed that these two. little uh, you know, children were were. by themselves. And you know there's a. there's a information in the police. report that a neighbor said, "Well, I. was asked to watch the kids for a couple. minutes, you know, and suddenly a couple. minutes turns into x number of hours.". So, um, kids alone, something bad could. happen. That's why it's a crime. You. just don't do it. By the way, you talked. about a neighbor. So, the officers, they. actually turned to the neighbors for. help to try to understand what was going. on. Reading from the report, quote, "Upon making contact with several.

surrounding apartments, they all advised. they didn't know where the mother was. The neighbor across the hall, Miss. Patrick, advised officers that the. mother had asked her to watch the. children around 5:00 p.m. on this date.". Patrick then advised officers that the. mother told her she wanted to quote, "goo smoke and did not want the children. around." Then it says, "Go smoke is a. common street term for smoking. marijuana." John, let's stop there. again. So, this neighbor now accuses. Chapman saying that she told her to.

watch the kids. Uh, that neighbor, by. the way, have a responsibility to make. sure the kids are safe, whether she. wants to babysit or not. Is there any. legal responsibility there? >> No, there's not a legal responsibility. unless the neighbor said, "Sure, I'll. watch those kids. I can have them in my. house." I mean, that's certainly going. to be a defense to this charge that this. woman is facing. if that there's some. kind of transaction with the neighbor. where the neighbor agrees to take to. take the kids in. That's not what what. happened here. And you got to believe. that some concerned neighbor, whether.

it's the person in the police report or. somebody else in that little community, decided this thing is uh this thing is. dangerous. We got to call the police and. report what's going on. >> You know, we've been on top of the story. from the very beginning. And we were. able to do that because of the amazing. support that we get from our sponsor, Morgan and Morgan, America's largest. injury law firm, a firm with over a. thousand attorneys. You know why they're. so big? Because they win a lot. They. have recovered over $25 billion for more. than 500,000 clients. Think about that.

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just eight clicks. So, if you're. injured, you can easily start a claim at. forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. by clicking the link below or scanning. the QR code on screen. Based on this narrative, the explanation. is definitely not going to help her uh. about why she allegedly wanted to leave. But if it was an emergency, if something. was going on and she's like, I I have to. run out. I I can't get the kids in time. Can you just watch them? Would that does. that matter? >> I mean, it does matter. It does matter. in the context of what was taking place.

But telling a neighbor, hey, will you. watch these two? Uh cuz I got to go. smoke. If if you listen to the police report, if you believe what they say, of course. that's slang for smoking marijuana or. doing something illicit, something. illegal that's not in the best interest. of these kids. So if there were a. different situation, if you know some. family member was injured and the the. mom goes to a neighbor and says just, you know, a couple minutes, watch these. kids. This is an emergency. But that's. not what happened here.

>> By the way, I didn't even mention what. happened next. So, as the officers try. to figure out the next steps, you know. what happens? Chapman comes home. Yeah. Quote, "The four-year-old child then. told officers her mother's name." While. officers were on scene, Chapman arrived. Upon contact, I observed Chapman to have. a very strong odor of an alcoholic. beverage coming from her person, bloodshot glassy eyes, and thick, slurred speech. Chapman then advised. officers that she had only left the.

children downstairs for a couple minutes. while she went to a neighbor's house. H. now she says she was only gone what 10. minutes and that she quote left them. downstairs which one could assume means. left them with the neighbor but then. show back upstairs to the apartment. John, that's that's odd. >> It's it's like the a DUI equivalent of. some driver saying I only had two beers. It's really something that police hear. all the time and it's not certainly. truthful the majority of the time. In.

this case, uh the mom trying to cover. for herself, saying, "I was just gone a. few minutes." But when you show back up. and there are police officers in your. apartment asking why your two children. are left alone, and you smell like a a. brewery, and your eyes are glassy and. bloodshot, I mean, you know, it's pretty. clear. You put two and two together to. see what's going on. So, um, you know, the mom leaving the kids, asking the. neighbor to watch him, showing up, and. having the police officers there, uh, you know, this is not going to end well.

for for this mom. By the way, there's. also not a whole lot of reliable. witnesses, these young children, this. allegedly this allegedly intoxicated. mother, this random neighbor. If you are. a prosecutor here, how do they prove. what actually happened? I feel like kind. of unreliable narrators in a way. Well, let's go back to law school. Race IPS. locator. The thing speaks for itself, right? I mean, we learned that first. year of law school. Cops show up, no. kids, I mean, no supervisor there, no. parent. Mom shows up apparently.

intoxicated, at least under the. influence. And her statement to a. neighbor is, I'm going to go do. something illegal, i.e. smoke marijuana. Um, there may not be a lot of reliable. witnesses, but circumstantial evidence. will certainly win the day if this thing. goes to trial. >> Does she have a defense? She has a defense of uh you know, I'm. just a uh you know, dumb person who made. a dumb choice revolving involving kids. who really could have gotten hurt. Not. much of a defense unless there's.

something to establish that there was a. reason she had to leave. I mean, this is. not a case that I would want to defend. Of course, if you're her lawyer, you've. got to do your best, but what do you. say? You say her judgment is poor. Uh. she shouldn't have had kids in the first. place. I mean, this is a tough one. Um, the facts are pretty straightforward. unless there's something that we don't. know about that was not in a police. report, >> by the way. So, after her arrest, um, she's apparently grinning in this mug. shot. Um, she ended up being bonded out.

Um, now it seems her next court date's. kind of up in the air. We'll talk about. her charges in a second, but I I got to. ask, I mean, that mug shot, can you. explain that? Have you seen anything. like that? You know, Jess, it's all fun and games. until you get charged criminally and. social services takes your kid away. I. mean, that mug shot uh speaks volumes. about who we're dealing with. I mean, if. you think it's cute and funny, you're. wearing a a prison outfit looks like a. orange and white striped prison garb. Um. the officers at the jail are telling.

you, "Okay, we're going to we got a. photograph of you." And you decide this. is time to make it like a you know, a. glamour shoot. Um that tells you. something about who we're dealing with. obviously not taking it seriously. Obviously, that mug shot's going to go. viral and people are going to be judging. this woman uh because of the choice not. only that she made to leave the kids. alone according to police, but that when. she's getting her mug shot taken, she. decides to make it humorous, which is. totally improper and inappropriate and. tells you something about what's going.

on in her head. >> Um and and by the way, I I should say, you know, can that be used at trial. against her? Have you seen that? Has a. mug shot been used against a defendant. to say they don't appreciate the serious. seriousness of their crime? It shows. intent. It shows some sort of element of. the crime. >> Sure. As pro, if our prosecuting this. case, I would try to get that in. Uh, you know, you want if it does go to a. jury trial, for example, you want the. jury to say, um, obviously she's not.

taking any of this seriously. Um, and I. would want them to see that if I could. get it past the judge because that mugsh. shot tells us a lot about this. situation. Unfortunately, you know, the. victims here are these two little kids. who didn't have any say in this matter. But if your mom decides that this is the. way to deal with getting arrested or. endangering you, uh, you know, they're. not going to have a great life ahead of. them, unfortunately. >> Yeah. So, child endangerment is a class. A misdemeanor. It's in Kentucky. carries. a maximum punishment of about one year.

in jail. Um, from your understanding, are there any aggravating factors to. that? Is it enough to deter someone from. doing something like this again? >> Yeah. Well, look, the the lucky thing. here is that no kid got hurt. Nobody, you know, grabbed a kitchen knife out of. the drawer. Nobody fell down and cracked. their head. There was nothing, according. to the police report, nothing else. happened to the kid. So, that's you got. to be grateful for that. But as a. standalone crime, again, it's like a. strict liabilility situation. You left.

these kids alone, something bad could. have happened. That's why we have laws. against this to try to encourage people. to be a good parent and don't leave your. kids alone if you're going to go down. the street and smoke marijuana. >> And is there a way like if she's. convicted of this, you know, goes to. trial or um you know, she takes a deal, do do you think it would it would be one. year in jail for something like this? I. mean, you know, it depends on your judge. and the circumstance and her history. But again, remember what else is.

happening here. You're going to have a. state social services case against her. Uh, you know, investigators are going to. be saying, "Okay, there's a criminal. case, but um maybe more importantly, is. she someone who needs the intervention. of the state government in terms of how. she raises her kids?" Almost definitely. there's investigators looking at this. right now and there's a process underway. where the state's going to say, "Okay, you need some type of supervision." And. so this doesn't happen again because the. innocent victims here are the. four-year-old and the 2-year-old. And if.

this is the way the mom thinks it's okay. to parent, you can imagine a a. children's court judge or someone's. going to step in and say, "Okay, we got. to we got to change the way things are. here.". >> But just to be very clear here, this is. not an automatic bar to her having. custody of her kids again, right? >> No. And normally what happens is the. state will sort of use a progressive uh. almost like progressive discipline. They'll say, "Okay, look what happened. You made a bad choice. You're still the. kid's mother. You need to be involved. with them, but we need to have someone. step in to maybe send you to parenting.

classes to get you some kind of therapy. to deal with looks like a substance. abuse problem." So, there are a number. of factors that are going to step in. She wouldn't automatically lose custody. unless something unless somebody. determined that, you know, this there's. more to this than we know right now. But. state's going to always have a. progressive situation where they try to. educate the mom, try to make sure the. kids are protected from any kind of. future bad behavior. >> Now, Chapman's ex posted on Facebook.

that he was getting a lot of questions. about her arrest and he claims that she. was hanging out and drinking with her. 16-year-old boyfriend. Yeah, talk about. that. So, in his post, he wrote, this is. the allegation. Apparently, they had. been fighting at the apartment before. she left and had the police called for a. domestic dispute. When the police showed. up, my ex-wife was in a different. apartment. My kids didn't even know. where she was. My children are now safe. and have been placed solely in my care. And the citation report did note that.

officers had contacted the Kentucky. Division of Protection and Permanency. This is the agency in charge of child. welfare. Um, that's a complicating. factor of this, isn't it, John? It's a. complicating factor and they, you know, both the courts and the state protective. services are going to be looking at this. young mom's judgment. Not only the um. leaving the kids alone situation, the. substance abuse, but if the partner in. your life is a minor, um that.

conceivably in and of itself in some. states can bring you more uh charges. depending on the circumstances. So. again, questions about this young. woman's uh what's going on in the. frontal loes of her brain, which is. where our judgment is formed. She. decides to do a glamour shot for her mug. shot, and then maybe when she's released. from custody, she goes back and hangs. out with her 16-year-old boyfriend. A. lot of issues here, a lot of red flags, and uh this one is not over. >> And real quick before we wrap things up, um where do you see this going legally.

in terms of the next steps the process? Well, you know, depending on her. history, I mean, you know, is she going. to be going to be pleading to a. misdemeanor? Is there some type of deal. worked out? If you're the prosecutor, the main thing you want to do is protect. these kids from any kind of future harm. So, that may factor into how they. resolve the criminal case. As far as. things like custody and and the. intervention of the state, you can. imagine this is going to be an ongoing. situation. So there might be some kind. of global resolution where uh the.

government steps in and says you need. you need some attention here because. you're not a great mom. Um and so that's. certainly something that um I would. anticipate they're going to do uh put. together a global deal with the criminal. charge and uh intervention by child. services. >> John Day, thank you so much for taking. the time. Always love having you on. Appreciate it. >> Thanks Jesse. >> And that is all we have for you right. now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank. you so much for joining us and as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcasts. You can follow.

me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll see you next time. [Music].