A Brownsville woman is facing criminal charges after police found her 5-year-old niece wandering inside a local flea market alone.
Brownsville police arrested 46-year-old Margarita Segoviano Velez on an child abandonment charge on Sunday afternoon.
Investigators told Action 4 News that officers were called to 77 Flea Market off Expressway 77/83 about a young girl found alone.
Police were able to use the girl’s first and last name to get a phone number for her father.
The father was at the flea market but said his wife went to church but he had left his daughter with her aunt.
Police said Velez was working a booth at the flea market but let the 5-year-old girl go to the bathroom by herself because she couldn’t leave the booth unattended.
Velez allegedly told police that the girl had only been gone about 20 minutes.
Jail records show that Velez was released from custody after posting a $3,500 dollar bond on Sunday evening.
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