Updated: Lebanon dad arraigned; bail is $200G cash

Jeremiah Hollenbeck

Editor's note: The man charged in this case is Jeremiah Hollenbeck of Lebanon, Maine. An early version of the story that ran this morning had his name misspelled. We apologize for the error.

FRANKLIN, N.H. - A Lebanon, Maine, man was arraigned today in Franklin District Court on charges stemming from his arrest on Wednesday after police say he left his four young children in a sweltering vehicle while shoplifting from the local Family Dollar store.

Jeremiah Hollenbeck, 28, of 678 River Road, is facing several charges, including four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of receiving stolen property, and a felony level possession of a controlled narcotic. His bail was set at $200,000 cash.

A 911 call sent police to the parking lot around 4 p.m. on Wednesday as the temperature outside soared to 97 degrees. The children - 9-month-old twins, a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old - were in a Subaru for 10 to 15 minutes, police estimated.

When officers arrived they noticed the engine was not running and the windows were all rolled up. When Hollenbeck approached the car police asked him to open the doors which revealed all four children were in heat-related distress, police said, prompting a call to Franklin Rescue.

They were transported to a local hospital for treatment and later released to the custody of a relative whom police would not identify. Franklin Police Sgt. Dan Poirier said the children all appeared in good condition after treatment. 

In June and July, 15 children died from heatstroke in hot cars across America, according to information supplied by Assistant Lebanon Rescue Chief Jason Cole. The tragedies happened in nine different states, from Texas and Florida to Idaho and Minnesota, and in temperatures as hot as 100 and as mild as 76.