$40K bond for mom who left baby in vestibule

SHARE $40K bond for mom who left baby in vestibule

The mother of a baby found alone in a South Side apartment building Friday night has been charged with child abandonment.

Johnetta Smith, 24, of the 5800 block of South Wolcott Avenue, was charged with the felony count after leaving her 1-year-old daughter in the vestibule of an apartment building Friday night, according to Chicago Police.

Bond for Smith was set at $40,000 in court Wednesday, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

The child was found about 11:40 p.m. March 21 in an Auburn Gresham building in the 8200 block of South Justine Street, police said.

The baby was taken in good condition to Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Center in Evergreen Park, and was later released into the custody of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, police said.

Detectives had been looking for the mother since Saturday afternoon, after the baby was identified. Smith turned herself in to police Monday.

She is next scheduled to appear in court March 31.

The Latest
The Oak Park folk musician and former National Youth Poet Laureate who sings of love and loss is “Someone to Watch in 2024.”
Aaron Mendez, 1, suffered kidney damage and may have to have a kidney removed, while his older brother, Isaiah, has been sedated since undergoing surgery.
With interest, the plan could cost the city $2.4 billion over 37 years, officials have said. Johnson’s team says that money will be more than recouped by property tax revenue flowing back to the city’s coffers from expiring TIF districts.
Director/choreographer Dan Knechtges pushes the show to the outermost boundaries of broad comedy.
Tobin was a longtime Bears executive who served as the team’s de facto general manager from 1986-92.