A woman accused of abandoning her 2-year-old daughter at a Riverside supermarket pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony and misdemeanor charges, but was not released from custody as she had anticipated.
Chiengkham Vilaysane, 31, of Riverside was arrested last week after allegedly leaving her daughter at a Food-4-Less at 4250 Van Buren Blvd.
Vilaysane was arraigned on child desertion and child endangerment charges before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 29 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Diaz had indicated at a hearing Monday that he would consider freeing the defendant on her own recognizance — if her family members agreed to provide her a place to stay.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Department of Probation informed the court that no living arrangements had been made, prompting the judge to maintain Vilaysane’s $10,000 bail requirement. She is being held at the Robert Presley Jail in downtown Riverside.
The defendant’s family told reporters last week that she suffers from a mental illness and has generally been a good mother to her daughter, who was placed in the care of county Child Protective Services.
The toddler was left in the Food-4-Less around 5:55 p.m. March 12 after her mother paid for her groceries and walked out, according to police.
Vilaysane had entered the store with the child in tow, and as the woman began shopping, the girl wandered off, investigators said. The defendant allegedly made no effort to determine the youngster’s whereabouts.
As Vilaysane was preparing to check out, a good Samaritan brought the child to her, and she allegedly responded, “Oh, just leave her,” then left, police said.
“The small child was able to identify the woman as her `mommy’ when she was shown a photo from the surveillance footage,” according to a police statement.
Vilaysane’s image was broadcast via media outlets and posted all over social networking sites. About 4:30 p.m. on March 14, a teller at a bank in the 10300 block of Magnolia Avenue recognized Vilaysane while she was transacting business and contacted police. Officers arrived a short time later and arrested her without incident.
The defendant has no prior documented felony or misdemeanor convictions.
— City News Service