Mother arrested after leaving children alone

TEXARKANA – A 29-year-old Texarkana mother was arrested on Sunday after leaving her children alone for nearly five hours at home, which later caught on fire.

At around 12:50 p.m., officers from the Texarkana Police Department responded to a fire in the 1900 block of Walnut Street, where they saw flames shooting from the roof. A neighbor was able to get the two boys out to safety across the street. As officials spoke to the children, they found out that their mother, Hilda Xona Cojoc, had left them alone since 8 a.m. to go to work. The children had been left alone for about five hours. Officers then contacted Cojoc, who came straight home.

Cojoc was arrested and taken to the Bi-State jail with a bond set at $150,000. Her children were placed in the care of Children’s Protective Services.

“We’re just incredibly grateful this didn’t turn into something even worse,” the Texarkana Police Department said. “This could have been ended in absolute tragedy.”