Grandma who put kids in kennels may get deal
It is possible that the case against a woman who drew international attention after she drove her grandchildren across Shelby County in pet kennels may be resolved before her next court date in October.
Leimome Cheeks was charged in June with two counts of child endangerment after she was seen in a video releasing the children from pet kennels loaded in the back of her SUV. Her attorney, Marty McAfee, told General Sessions Court Judge Loyce Lambert Ryan that he and prosecutors are working toward an agreement.
“The state and I are closing in on a settlement in this case,” McAfee said after Cheeks’ hearing. “We may even advance this case and get this settled before October. We’re working on something and we’ve got some ideas.”
However, he could not disclose what that resolution might be.
Cheeks, 63, made news around the world after a video of her releasing her grandchildren, then ages 7 and 9, from the kennels in the back of a Ford Explorer surfaced and went viral.
According to police reports, on June 10 she drove around Downtown and across the county from Whiteha-
ven to Collierville, an approximately 25mile trip, while the children were in the pet kennels.
Temperatures that day hit 95 degrees and the police affidavit noted that there were no vents in the back of the SUV. The children told officers it was hot in the back of the vehicle.
Cheeks told police there was no room in the Explorer for the children.
She also told investigators she checked on the children periodically and that later they were allowed to ride in the backseat.
A bystander saw her unloading them in front of Graceland, recorded her and contacted police.
Cheeks was arrested the next day at her home in Whitehaven. Her bond was set at $100.
Cheeks has declined to be interviewed about the incident and her arrest.
But McAfee has said she does not like the media attention, she is not a monster and never meant to harm the children. Cheeks has pleaded not guilty. “She is a grandmother. She is a person that has always worked, and she did not mean to hurt these children,” McAfee said last month after a court appearance. “I believe when the world meets Ms. Cheeks, they’re not going to find a monster.”