Child endangerment trial begins for father accused of leaving kids alone on cold Greensburg street

A Westmoreland County jury will begin hearing evidence Tuesday in the case against a man charged with allowing his three young children to wander the streets of Greensburg alone on a cold Valentine’s Day two years ago.

Prosecutors contend Antonio Partlow, 33, and his wife, of Charleroi, were asleep shortly before 3 p.m. at a home they lived in of 4th Street in Greensburg on Feb. 14, 2020, when their 4-year-old twin boys and 3-year-old daughter were found alone several blocks away on Vannear Street. Partlow has since moved to Washington County.

Jurors were seated to hear the case Monday. Prosecutors claim a Good Samaritan found the children and called police after it appeared they had no adult supervision. One of the kids was wearing a jacket on the 24-degree, cloudy day, said Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker in her opening statement to the jury.

“No parents ever came. The children were cold, shaking and mucus was running down their faces,” Ranker said.

She said the children clung to police after they responded, asked for food and pleaded not to be returned home.

According to court records, police said Partlow and his wife, Michele, were asleep in the home with multiple dogs and feces on the floor.

Partlow is on trial for three counts each of child endangerment and reckless endangerment. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani revoked Partlow’s $25,000 unsecured bond after he failed to appear in court for the scheduled start of his trial last week. Partlow turned himself in on Friday and remains in custody.

Assistant Public Defender Michael Garofalo told jurors Partlow committed no crimes and asked they ignore the prosecution’s efforts to play on their sympathies.

“Is it unreasonable that you can fall asleep and your kids wander out of the home?” Garofalo asked. “They have to show you my client’s conduct put these children at risk.”

Michele Partlow, 34, is charged with one count each of child endangerment and reckless endangerment. She is scheduled to appear in Feb. 28 for a potential guilty plea, according to court records.