Laramie Woman Left Toddler Home Alone While Brawling at Bar, Police Say

A 25-year-old Laramie woman is accused of leaving her 2-year-old child home alone in dangerous conditions while she was involved in a physical fight at a downtown bar, according to court documents filed Monday.

Police responded to the Ranger Bar around 10:15 p.m. last Wednesday to break up a fight between two women pulling each other’s hair in the karaoke area. During the altercation, Kayla Marie Clark allegedly bit the other woman on the top of her head.

While officers interviewed those involved, the other woman told police that Clark had left her toddler home alone—and that she did so regularly.

Clark was evasive when questioned about her child’s whereabouts, the affidavit states. She repeatedly mentioned needing to call a “babysitter” or her “husband,” but gave multiple inconsistent versions of where the child was and who was watching her. Police said Clark intentionally directed them to several inaccurate addresses to keep them from locating the child.

Clark’s husband, contacted at work, provided the correct address and confirmed the child was likely alone. He told police Clark had left the 2-year-old unattended on numerous previous occasions and gave consent for officers to enter.

Inside, officers found the apartment’s bedroom door closed with an “excessively loud nursery rhyme” playing on a loop from a tablet. The room was dark and overwhelmingly hot—more than 90 degrees—with a space heater turned to “max,” which officers called “unequivocally a safety/fire hazard.”

The child was wearing a soiled diaper with sweatpants over top and a “nappy” over the sweatpants “as if to restrict the child from accessing or removing the diaper.” The sweatpants were wet and soiled. Officers found sippy cups in the room and a small mattress on the floor covered with stuffed animals.

In the living room, officers discovered a tray containing suspected controlled substances and paraphernalia, including marijuana, grinders, glass pipes with residue, and rolling papers—all within easy reach of the child.

Clark was also physically combative with officers, backhanding one at the jail during booking.

She faces felony interference with a peace officer and misdemeanor charges including child endangerment, battery, possession of a controlled substance, and interference. She remains in the Albany County Detention Center on an $80,000 cash bond with a preliminary hearing set for March 26.