April 13, 2018 – A warrant was issued on Tuesday, April 3 for Shanay L. Gehlert, 36, of Excelsior Springs.
Gehlert and her attorney were present in Clay County Circuit Court on Tuesday, March 20 where Gehlert’s bond was reduced to $5,000. As part of the bond reduction, Gehlert was required to report to NDS (Northland Dependency Services), complete a weekly urinalysis and inpatient drug treatment.
Three days later, on March 23, a probation violation was filed with the court and a new hearing was scheduled for April 3. When Gehlert failed to appear in court, her bond was revoked and a warrant for her arrest was issued. A new bond is set to $20,000, with personal recognizance and/or 10 percent cash bond denied.
Gehlert was arrested by Excelsior Springs Police Department on May 13, 2015, on a Class A misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree.
According to the probable cause statement filed by ESPD, Gehlert was acting suspicious and fell asleep inside Brown’s Pharmacy, now KexRx, on Crown Hill Rd.
It appeared to authorities that Gehlert was under the influence of some kind, and left her child sitting in a rear-facing car seat unattended, in a non-running vehicle. Gehlert failed two field sobriety tests.
Officers observed the child in the vehicle, screaming, crying and sweaty with a bottle of milk next to them in the car seat. Once removed from the car, the child was responsive, breathing and soon stopped crying, even smiling at officers. The outside temperature was approximately 70-degrees, and officers indicated the inside temperature of the vehicle was estimated to be 10 to 15-degrees warmer.
Witnesses told police Gehlert was inside the business for an hour-and-a-half, maybe longer.
Gehlert pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge of child endangerment in March 2016, and she received a suspended execution of sentence in favor of two years of supervised probation. Gehlert has had multiple probation violations since pleading guilty, the most recent occurred in January 2018, and in October and June 2017.