Woman left children in vehicle that caught fire while she shoplifted at Oviedo Mall, cops say
A Central Florida woman with a history of run-ins with law enforcement was arrested in late May after leaving two children in her car, which caught on fire, while she was allegedly shoplifting, according to law enforcement.
Alicia Me’Kayla Moore, 24, was observed on May 26 allegedly shoplifting alongside an unknown man at the Dillards department store at the Oviedo Mall by mall security. Moore left the children in her car, a white 2016 Lincoln, while inside Dillards for around an hour, according to her arrest report.
Redactions to the report left unclear the relationship between Moore and the children.
While Moore was inside Dillards, the vehicle caught fire. One resident leaving the mall, Suzanne Matos, saw the fire and rescued those inside the vehicle, although not before at least one of them suffered burns, according to court records.
Law enforcement and emergency services were contacted and arrived on scene, after which the children were quickly transported to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. One of the children, a girl whose age was redacted, suffered first-degree burns to her face and hands.
Moore was arrested later in the day by the Orlando Police Department on several outstanding warrants unrelated to this incident and taken to the Orange County Jail.
She was already involved in ongoing court proceedings on a charge of fleeing a law enforcement officer in March, according to court records. Police had been contacted by an associate of Moore’s who had allowed her to borrow his car, the white 2016 Lincoln destroyed in the fire, and was refusing to return it. When police arrived, Moore fled the scene in the Lincoln.
Although the Lincoln had been “completely totaled” after the fire and left with no identifying markings, law enforcement was eventually able to determine it was the Lincoln Moore had refused to return to its owner.
Moore has additionally been charged with grand theft twice, firstly for allegedly shoplifting about $1,000 worth of merchandise at a Target in 2017 and secondly for allegedly stealing $1,500 in gift cards from the 7-11 where she worked in 2018, according to court records.
It is currently unknown what started the fire.
Video obtained by law enforcement from a Tesla parked next to the Lincoln show the car’s windshield wipers still running after Moore exited the vehicle, suggesting the car had been left on. A police inspection of the vehicle after it was towed found clothes and a box displaying the label “flammable gas” in the trunk, according to court records.
Law enforcement has currently not determined what was contained within the box. According to video from the Tesla, the fire originated in the rear of the vehicle. Law enforcement has found no indication that the fire was caused by electrical malfunction or engine failure.
Moore has been charged with aggravated child neglect, a second-degree felony, and 1st degree arson, a first-degree felony. The former charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years while the second carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.
Jail records show Moore is also facing four charges out of Sumter County, including petty theft and assault and battery on a person 65 or older.
Her first court appearance in the Seminole County case was Thursday. She is being held on $48,000 bond at the Seminole County Jail. Her next scheduled court appearance is her arraignment on June 27.
