According to Harris County Constable Mark Herman, on Nov. 11, three people were arrested in Houston, TX, for locking a 6-year-old boy who was in their care in a running clothes dryer at a laundromat as a form of punishment. When EMTs arrived, the boy was “crying” and “shaking” but uninjured.
Reportedly, it all started when the boy lost a bag of chips and got upset. His relationship with the three adults he was with — Jaqory Gill, 20, Haven Duncan, 18, and Life Ford, 19 — is unclear. According to an affidavit reviewed by People, the boy struggled as the three forced the boy into the appliance.
Constable Herman said the ordeal lasted about 5 minutes as the boy was locked in the dryer, and the adults he was with held the door closed. According to ABC 13, laundromat security camera footage showed one of the adults the child was with put money in the dryer, and then let the dryer run for a minute with the boy still inside.
Gill and Ford were overheard telling the boy they would let him out when he found the chips. Witnesses at the laundromat eventually intervened and called the authorities for help.
The dryer ran for a full minute
When law enforcement arrived, Constable Herman said one of the male suspects, Gill, fled on foot while the female suspect, Ford, blocked the deputy’s pursuit. Ford and Duncan, who had a loaded firearm in his possession, were detained, and Gill was eventually tracked down and taken into custody.
Constable Herman says EMTs evaluated the boy at the scene, and he was released into the care of a guardian — who, according to People, was the boy’s mother. When she arrived, she reportedly scolded the boy, telling him, “he was being a baby while they were playing.” The mother has not so far been charged in the case, and her relationship with Ford, Haven, and Gill has also not been reported.
Clothes dryers get as hot as 160 degrees, but they can take about 10 minutes to reach maximum temperature. In 2018, a 10-year-old San Antonio, TX boy was found dead in a clothes dryer, where he hid playing hide and seek, but authorities determined he was electrocuted. It’s good that bystanders at the Houston laundromat spoke up and called the police when they did.
As news spread of the alarming incident involving the Houston boy and the clothes dryer, social media comments underscored the severity of the situation. “I don’t know what the maximum sentence for this is, but it probably won’t be nearly enough,” one comment said. Another added, “They should never be free again! That child will never forget! #abuse.”
Once arrested, Duncan was charged with child endangerment with a $10,000 bond. Gill was charged with fleeing the scene, and his bond was set at $100. Ford, meanwhile, was charged with interfering with the duties of a public servant, and her bond was also set at $100. Gill and Ford are out on bond. Herman said Child Protective Services was made aware of the situation and that an investigation was ongoing.