Dad allegedly locks sons inside car to play poker

A jobless man allegedly locked the doors of his car, cracked the windows open, and left his two sons inside the vehicle without food, water, and air-conditioning for several hours while playing poker in Oleai on Tuesday afternoon. As a result, he also failed to pick up his other son from school.

The 9- and 7-year-old boys were crying as they hugged their mother after their ordeal, while their 3-year-old brother just laid still and weak inside the car, according to a police report.

The mother, a teacher, was so upset that she slapped her husband, Frank Ichiro Sablan, twice in the face.

Sablan ran away when he saw her calling the police. Police, however, arrested him in the parking lot of Top Store in Kannat Tabla at 10:41pm that same day.

Sablan, 32, was taken to Superior Court yesterday on charges of child abuse and neglect and disturbing the peace. His bail was set at $5,000 cash. He was barred from having any contact with his wife, their children, the school where his wife works, and from all poker arcades.

Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig was appointed as counsel for Sablan. Assistant attorney general Barbara Cepeda appeared for the government.

Preliminary hearing will be on Oct. 15 at 9am.

Police responded to Lucky De Mart in Dandan in response to the call of the defendant’s wife. Investigation showed that earlier that day, Sablan drove to Sunny Poker in Oleai with his sons, ages 7 and 3 years old.

Upon arriving at Sunny Poker, Sablan turned off the car, locked the doors, cracked the windows open, and went inside the arcade to play poker, leaving the two children inside the vehicle.

Police believe that Sablan left the two children in the car for several hours without food, water, and no air-conditioning.

The 9-year-old son who wasn’t picked up at San Vicente Elementary School decided to walk to the school where his mother works. It was at the San Vicente traffic signal light when Sablan arrived and picked up the boy.

The wife told police that she was in her classroom when Sablan came to pick her up at 4:30pm. He immediately began apologizing to his wife, telling her how sorry he was and that “temptation” had gotten to him.

Not wanting to cause a scene in school, the wife proceeded to their car. Upon opening the car’s door, the two older sons leaped into their mother’s arms, crying, and telling her what their father did.

The 7-year-old boy told their mother how their father brought them to a place and locked them inside the car and told them to wait.

The boy said it was so hot inside the car that his cheeks were getting really hot. He said his 3-year-old brother was just lying down on his side, “like he was going to sleep.”

The 9-year-old son was also crying as he hugged his mother, telling her how he waited for his father to pick him up from school. The boy decided to walk on his way to his mother’s jobsite. His father finally picked him up as he was at the San Vicente traffic light near San Vicente Church.

The mother saw that her 3-year-old son appeared weak and exhausted in the car.

After slapping Sablan, the wife called the police and asked them to meet her at Lucky De Mart.

Police said the wife revealed that she has been living in constant fear because of Sablan’s disregard for the law by continually violating a temporary restraining order that prohibited him from harassing and contacting her.

The wife said she was afraid to report Sablan’s violations because he once allegedly threatened that if she attempts to leave him, she would suffer the same fate of a woman who was killed by a police officer at her office in Garapan.