Lawrence woman accused of leaving toddlers in car at bar arrested again after less than 1 day out of jail

A woman accused of leaving her toddlers outside in her car during last week’s polar vortex while she was in a Lawrence bar was arrested on new charges after briefly being freed from jail.

Tiara N. Dillon, 26, of Lawrence, was arrested at Lawrence Municipal Court on suspicion of making a criminal threat on Friday, according to jail records.

Lawrence police responded to the courthouse that morning regarding a criminal threat that had just occurred, Sgt. Amy Rhoads said, via email. After investigating, officers arrested the suspect.

Rhoads didn’t elaborate on who the woman allegedly threatened or what she threatened to do.

Less than 24 hours earlier, on Thursday afternoon, Dillon made her first court appearance in the bar case, in which she’s charged with two felony counts of aggravated child endangerment and one misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle under the influence. The judge gave her a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, but updated court records allege she violated conditions of her bond the next day.

The initial incident occurred about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday — a night that saw single-digit temperatures — at Playerz Sports Bar, 1910 Haskell Ave. Dillon reportedly had been inside the bar while her children were outside in her vehicle “without heat for a substantial amount of time,” police said. The children, ages 2 and 3, were uninjured.

Dillon was charged and made her first appearance in the new court case on Monday, according to court records. Her bond in that case was set at $4,000, cash or surety, and as of late Monday jail records indicated she remained in custody.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office previously denied the Journal-World’s request for Dillon’s mugshot.

Contact Journal-World public safety reporter Sara Shepherd

COMMENTS

Welcome to the new LJWorld.com. Our old commenting system has been replaced with Facebook Comments. There is no longer a separate username and password login step. If you are already signed into Facebook within your browser, you will be able to comment. If you do not have a Facebook account and do not wish to create one, you will not be able to comment on stories.