By David Whisenant
ROWAN COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - A woman with a long list of prior charges for child abuse is now facing new charges. Deputies say she let her two boys run outside in the rain while she was impaired at her home in Rowan County.
According to the report, April Olivia Lomax, 36, was charged with two counts of child abuse on Wednesday.
A driver flagged down a sheriff’s deputy in the area of Stone Road, saying he had seen a young boy running in the road. The boy was wearing a t-shirt, but no pants.
The deputy drove in the area and was able to locate the child. It was noted in the report that the boy has special needs.
Other witnesses told the deputy that the boy had nearly been struck by at least two cars.
When the deputy approached the boy, he ran onto the porch of his home on Coley Road.
The boy’s mother, April Lomax, answered the door, and, according to the deputy, had “slurred speech and heavy eyes.”
Lomax denied being impaired and told the deputy that she was capable of caring for her children.
While they were talking, another child, age 11, came running into the house from a nearby barn.
The deputy noted that at the time, the temperature was in the low 40′s and it was raining.
The deputy asked Lomax to recommend a responsible adult to watch the children, and she pointed next door to the father of her fiance.
That man told the deputy that Lomax “had a drinking problem,” and agreed to watch the boys until her fiance could come home.
When the deputy went back to the house the woman was gone. The deputy found her in the garage where “there was a bottle of wine.”
Lomax was charged with two counts of child abuse and DSS was notified. Bond was set at $5000.
While being processed, the report notes that Lomax registered a .18 on a breathalyzer test given by the deputy.
A partial list of past criminal charges for Lomax includes five counts of child abuse, simple assault, offense against family, driving while impaired, and failure to appear in court.
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