An 18-year-old woman who was supposed to be baby-sitting a 3-year-old boy found walking on a highway near Devils Lake was sentenced Thursday to six months behind bars and four years of supervised probation.
Chelsea Walking Eagle of Grand Forks pleaded guilty to child neglect.
Authorities said a deputy found the boy on the afternoon of April 21 wandering in the middle of state Highway 20, a half-mile south of the road's intersection with U.S. Highway 2.
The boy was not injured but was alone for 20 to 30 minutes, while Walking Eagle was smoking marijuana with others in the garage of an apartment about 200 yards away, authorities said.
In court Thursday, Walking Eagle acknowledged that she wasn't properly caring for the boy but denied smoking marijuana. Ramsey County State's Attorney Lonnie Olson said Walking Eagle tested positive for marijuana at the time of her arrest.
