Staff writer

kwarco@observer-reporter.com

A New Eagle mother is in Washington County Jail after allegedly leaving her two young sons home alone while she went to a local bar for a beer Friday night.

Maria Lynn Hillman, 25, of 135 Union St., Belle Estates, was arrested by Monongahela police on charges of false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of children.

Police said they got a call from one of Hillman's neighbors who heard Hillman's two-year-old son crying for his mother.

According to police, the neighbor went to the home of Hillman's sister to see if she could locate Hillman's husband. When she learned he was not there, the neighbor went back to the house. She discovered the boy and his 4-year-old brother were locked in a bedroom.

The neighbor and her brother removed a screen from the window. The window had been locked from the inside, but they were able to open it and get the boys out.

Police said Hillman was home when they arrived. The bartender reportedly told police that Hillman had a few beers before getting a call informing her that officers were on the way to her house.

The owner of the bar told police Friday that Hillman had been in the bar a few days ago with her children. When he told her that the children were not allowed to run around the bar, she left and returned alone a short time later.

The 4-year-old boy reportedly told a Carroll Township police officer that his mother had left them home alone in the past, often for long periods of time.

Police did not identify the bar in court documents.

She was arraigned before District Judge Jay Dutton and placed in Washington County Jail on $2,000 bond.

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