Albany mom arrested for gambling as kids wait in car

Authorities in Broward County, Florida say the children were left unattended for hours as mom played poker
Isis Simmons Mug Shot

HOLLYWOOD, FL – An Albany woman faces three counts of child neglect after police say she left her three children unattended for hours as she gambled in a nearby casino.

33 year old Icese Laporsha Simmons appeared Tuesday in a virtual hearing on the charges.

Police say Simmons left her three children alone in her car overnight Monday for hours while she played poker at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.

According to an arrest form, Seminole tribal police officers were dispatched to the third floor of the Lucky Street parking garage just before 3:30 a.m. for a report of three children sleeping in a car.

Officers found that the car was not running.

They arrested Icese Laporsha Simmons of Albany, after she returned to her car just after 4 a.m. while police were still on scene.

In court Tuesday, prosecutors said Simmons was playing poker at the casino for roughly three-and-a-half hours while her children, aged 4, 10 and 12, were left alone in the garage.

The judge ordered her to have no contact with her children.

They are now under the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to the arrest report.