Memphis woman who drove 2 children in pet kennels charged with child endangerment

A woman seen on video transporting two young children in pet kennels inside her vehicle has been arrested and charged with child endangerment.

Leimome Cheeks, 61, said there was no room inside her vehicle Saturday (June 9), so she told her grandchildren—ages 7 and 8—to get inside the kennels, according to a Memphis police affidavit. The children told authorities they became hot because there were no air conditioning vents in the back of the SUV. At the time, temperatures in the area reached about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

The video, obtained by The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, shows one of the children climbing out of a kennel from the back of the vehicle.

Cheeks is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail.