A woman who allegedly abandoned a 6-month-old baby at a South Side police station Friday afternoon was arrested on a warrant related to an earlier allegation she endangered the same child in September, 2009, police said.
Matisha Goens, 28, of the 7000 block of South Crandon Avenue, was arrested at her home Monday evening on the warrant issued after she failed to appear in court on Oct. 21. She was charged in September with endangering the health and welfare of a child, according to police.
In the September incident, police say Goens left the same child unattended in a car in a parking lot of a Secretary of State facility at 9901 S. King Dr.
She was located by police Monday after allegedly leaving the same 6-month-old infant girl in a stroller inside the Grand Crossing District police station, at 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave., on Friday afternoon.
She has not been charged with anything as of Tuesday morning in Friday’s incident but police were still investigating.
In Friday’s incident, police said two witnesses saw a woman who appeared to be 18 to 24, dressed in a black jacket and top, dark blue skinny jeans, a black skull cap and wearing boots with white fluffy fur trim come briefly inside with the stroller. She mumbled something to the effect of that she had forgotten something and that she would be "right back" but she never returned, according to police.
The baby, believed to be approximately 6-months-old, was found in a black and silver "Baby Trend Expedition" stroller with a multi-colored Winnie the Pooh blanket. She was wearing a pink jacket with butterflies and a jumper with "ABC" printed on it. The girl has two teeth and pierced ears with diamond earrings.
Given Jane Doe's age, her abandonment was illegal. Illinois' Safe Haven law only allows children up to 30 days old to be left with personnel at designated safe havens like hospitals.
