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Woman Accused of Texting While Driving With a Baby on Her Lap Pleads Not Guilty
Shawndeeia Bowen (Facebook)
She was busted by a tipster, and the cops, but now 29-year-old Shawndeeia Bowen says she is "not guilty" of texting while driving with a baby on her lap. Bonus: She was driving on a suspended license!Bowen was charged today in Torrance with seven misdemeanor counts, reports City News Service. Her charges break down as follows: three counts of child endangerment, two counts of violating a court order and one count each of driving without a license and driving on a suspended license.
On top of the misdemeanor charges, Bowen is accused of three infractions--two involving a child not restrained by a seatbelt and one for driving while using a wireless phone.
Bowen was spotted by another motorist Tuesday afternoon on the 405 Freeway's South Bay Curve. That motorist called 911, and police pulled Bowen over when she exited the freeway. When Bowen was pulled over, she had her 1-year-old child in her lap and her phone in her hand.
Two other youngsters were in the car, and they were not belted in; her 2-year-old was in a car seat that was not secured, and her 4-year-old was seated without a seat belt. All three children were taken into child protective custody.
Bowen returns to court April 12 for her pretrial hearing.
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