Tierra Littles left 2-year-old son home alone in Phoenix, according to court papers

PHOENIX - A Phoenix woman is behind bars after police found her 2-year-old son home alone Tuesday in a cold apartment.

According to court documents, police arrested 19-year-old Tierra M. Littles after a call for a child left alone and crying.

Phoenix police officers arrived around 9 a.m. at her apartment near Camelback Road and 19th Avenue.

While checking the back of the apartment, the officers could hear the baby crying, court records said.

As officers tried to get into the apartment, Littles’ former boyfriend reportedly arrived with a key and was able to enter.

The 2-year-old boy was found in a playpen, “crying at the top of his lungs,” and was wearing just a shirt, according to court documents.

The thermostat in the apartment indicated it was 55 degrees inside, papers said.

Court documents said the apartment was messy, and the boy’s skin was cold to the touch.

Littles' ex-boyfriend picked the boy up from the playpen, put a diaper on him, and fed him a piece of bread with peanut butter that the boy ate immediately, papers said.

Littles reportedly told police that she was scheduled to work from 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. so she left her son by himself in his playpen without any food.

She also told police the heat wasn’t working, so she didn’t turn it on, court papers said.

Littles was booked on a count of child abuse.