Westmoreland jury finds father not guilty for napping while small children roamed

A former Greensburg man was found not guilty Tuesday of three felony offenses in which he was accused of being asleep as his young children walked alone on city streets.

Jurors deliberated more than four hours before it acquitted Antonio Partlow, 33, now of New Kensington, of three counts of child endangerment. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani declared a mistrial on three misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment after the jury reported it could not reach a verdict on those offenses.

The deadlocked jury reported it had one holdout in favor of a guilty verdict, that deliberations became heated and further discussion would not result in a unanimous decision.

Partlow had been in jail since late last week after he initially failed to appear in court for his trial. He was released from custody Tuesday night after the judge reinstated his $25,000 unsecured bond.

Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker told the judge no decision has been reached as to whether to continue the prosecution against Partlow for the three charges jurors could not reach a verdict on following the two-day trial.

Police said Partlow’s three children, twin 4-year-old boys and a 3-year old girl were found by a good Samaritan walking alone on Vannear Street, about three blocks from their home in February 2020.

Lawrence Payne testified the kids said they were walking to a store. All three children appeared to be cold. Just one wore a jacket on a 21-degree day.

Police said Partlow admitted he and his wife were asleep upstairs and didn’t know the children had left home.

Greensburg patrolman Garret McNamara said Partlow also acknowledged that the children had previously wandered away from the home.

McNamara testified one of the kids begged not to go home and all three asked for food.

Partlow did not testify.

The length of deliberations was in sharp contrast to the compressed testimony portion of the trial in which just three prosecution witnesses provided evidence Tuesday morning.

The case focused on the question of whether a parent‘s afternoon nap constituted reckless or negligent behavior while caring for children.

Defense attorney Michael Garofalo argued Partlow was guilty of no crimes.

“His conduct was to fall asleep with toddlers downstairs, and he believed the doors were locked,” Garofalo argued. “The act of napping was reckless? Maybe if he was napping while driving an Indy car, that’s reckless.”

The prosecution contended the children were left to fend for themselves and as a result placed in imminent danger.

Ranker told jurors the children were exposed to extreme cold as they walked unsupervised near heavily traveled roads.

Conditions in the home also led to the criminal charges, she said. Police testified the home was unkempt and piles of dog feces were seen on the floor.

“Toddlers get into dangerous situations so parents don’t nap during the day,” Ranker said. “They failed to perform the most important aspect of being a parent.”

Partlow’s wife, Michele, was also charged with child endangerment and reckless endangerment. According to court records she is scheduled to plead guilty on Feb. 28.