Child Left Behind by Shoplifting Suspects

Two suspected shoplifters got away with some loot Sunday but left behind a 1-year-old child, police said.

The child’s mother is being investigated for child abandonment, authorities said.

About 5:15 p.m., two women walked into the Marshall’s store on Ventura Boulevard in Oxnard with the girl, Oxnard Police Officer Michael Adair said.

While in the store, they allegedly put some clothing into the baby’s diaper bag and left the store without paying for the merchandise, police said. When confronted by store security, the women fled the scene and left the child behind, Adair said.

“After 18 years I thought I had seen everything,” Cmdr. John Crombach said. “If the public wants to see what’s going on out there, this is it.”

An anonymous witness gave police the child’s name, which helped them identify the suspects, Adair said. Police said they are seeking Regina Quinonez, 24, and Martha Magana, 23, in connection with the case.

Quinonez, who police identified as the girl’s mother, is suspected of child abandonment and theft, while Magana is wanted on suspicion of theft, Crombach said.

The child has been turned over to Child Protective Services.