When Kendra Jane Hampton left her home on Saturday to go to a bar, she didn't expect she'd soon be behind jail bars.
Hampton, 39, was arrested after her 1-year-old daughter allegedly choked on a cigarette butt at the house while she was away, according to MyNews13.com.
Hampton was at Scruffy's Bar, a drinking establishment in Palm Coast, Florida, when the accident happened.
Investigators said Hampton was reportedly drinking rum at about 1 p.m. Saturday when her boyfriend, whose name has not been released, left the house. A short time later, Hampton followed suit and headed to Scruffy's, leaving her three children, ages 1, 2 and 9, without direct supervision, police say.
At some point, the youngest child reached into an ashtray, put a cigarette butt in her mouth and started choking on it, ClickOrlando.com reports.
Luckily, two other adults in the home -- who weren't aware that Hampton had left -- heard the child choking and were able to remove the filter from her throat, WESH.com reports.
Investigators told the station they found an ashtray filled with smoked cigarette butts in Hampton's room.
Hampton and her boyfriend both returned at the same time, police said. When the boyfriend found out what happened, he confronted Hampton, who allegedly hit him in the nose.
The boyfriend then called 911 and told police that the suspect was making suicidal threats, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
When officers interviewed Hampton, she denied making suicidal statements and insisted she had told the two adults in the house she would be leaving. Both denied being told that, according to the paper.
Deputies arrested Hampton, who allegedly became "combative" when handcuffed.
Hampton has been charged with three counts of felony child neglect, and one count each of battery domestic violence and resisting arrest.
She remains at the Flagler County Inmate Center of $5,500 bond.
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