Felony Charges for Ride in Trunk

A Gardena woman arrested for allegedly driving 70 miles with two children locked in the trunk of her car last month was charged Friday with three felony counts of child endangerment.

Police say Laverne Dunlap, 35, drove from Gardena to the Antelope Valley on May 20 with nine people packed into her Toyota Corolla, including a boy, 15, and a girl, 10, in the trunk.

Aside from two charges of endangering the lives of the children in the trunk, Dunlap was charged with a third count because a child sitting on the lap of an adult passenger was “totally unsecured,” prosecutors said.

A motorist noticed two children in the trunk of Dunlap’s car while she was stopped along the San Diego Freeway in West Los Angeles.

He called 911 and followed Dunlap for about an hour until a California Highway Patrol officer pulled her over on the Antelope Valley Freeway near Acton, CHP Officer Wendy Hahn said.

Dunlap allegedly told the officer that she did not have enough room in the car and that the children wanted to ride in the trunk, Hahn said.

Dunlap was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and released the next day on her own recognizance.

She is scheduled to appear for arraignment June 20 in San Fernando Superior Court.

If convicted, Dunlap could face up to nine years in state prison, prosecutors said.